Changing the Hands of Time
by Isabel aka MoonLily
Summary: REWRITE IN PROGRESS. In the meantime, please read the companion piece Into the Twilight We Go. The two stories are meant to complement each other and I was originally going to make them into the same story.
1. The Discovery

Changing the Hands of Time

_**Changing the Hands of Time **_

** **

Chapter 1 

Lily Evans rummaged through the extremely unorganized mass of clothes, personal belongings, and various joke items from Zonko's. She should've known that Sirius Black's trunk would be just as messy as James Potter's had been, if not more so. She would be caught red-handed if she kept going at this rate. And she still had two more trunks to go.

Taking a look at the article of clothing that she had stolen from James Potter's trunk, she didn't known whether to laugh or puke. It was covered with a bunch of dancing broomsticks yelling, "Shake! Shake! Shake!"

On the one hand, it gave Lily a feeling of supreme satisfaction because it would be on display for the whole school to enjoy. Then again, she had touched James Potter's boxers. No telling what kind of diseases she would come down with.

Shuddering slightly, she resumed her fruitless search of Sirius's trunk, hoping to find what she was looking for before the foursome got back. Something almost hidden at the very bottom of the trunk caught Lily's eye.

She took it out and discovered that it was a small, round object with a dial at the middle and little numbers all around. Attached to it was a thin, silver chain. Lily inspected the strange object, never having seen anything quite like it before. She made up her mind to take it back to her dorm and take a closer look, and hope that Sirius wouldn't suspect her of taking it.

Lily decided that James's boxers would have to be enough to entertain the school at the upcoming Quidditch match and made for the door, knowing that the boys could walk in any minute.

Just as her hand reached for the doorknob, the door flung open and knocked Lily to the ground.

"Ouch! You clumsy…" she trailed off when she saw the figure in the doorway. Busted. 

James Potter leaned against the frame of the doorway, his arms crossed against his chest, glaring at his archenemy. James and Lily were both in their sixth year at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, wore Prefect badges, and drew admirers to them by the dozens. But the similarities ended there.

Whereas James was loud and obnoxious, Lily was kind and considerate. James was at the top of his class without trying; Lily dutifully did her homework every night and studied far into the night for tests. James was best at Transfiguration, and worst at Charms; Lily was the exact opposite. James was indiscriminate when picking targets for pranks; Lily targeted James and his prankster group: The Marauders. James went out with practically every girl who wasn't a Slytherin or too young for him, only to heartlessly dump them in a few days time and move on to the next admirer; Lily tried to let the boys down gently and only go out with those that she liked. James was captain of the Quidditch team; Lily had only been to two games in her life, one because she wanted to hex James and the other because her friends had dragged her to "see the hot guys in action."

Even their physical appearances were as different as night and day.

James was tall, with a mop of messy black hair that looked like it hadn't been combed in years, even though he insisted that he tried to fix it every morning. His eyes were a deep, chocolate brown, framed by a pair of black glasses.

Lily was a good few inches shorter than James, with red hair that fell in loose curls around her face. Her striking green eyes had entranced many, though right now they were narrowed to slits, shooting daggers at James.

"Me, clumsy? At least when I pull a prank, I know enough not to get caught!" James scowled at Lily, the dislike evidently on his face. Suddenly, the frown was replaced by a grin when James caught sight of what Lily held in one of her hands.

"Had to bring back a trophy, huh? Why, Carrot, my sweet! I didn't know you felt that way about me! I'm genuinely touched, really!"

This remark was met by a kick in the shin delivered by Lily. "Don't make me sick."

James was about to retort when he saw the object Lily grasped in her other hand. Before she realized what he was looking at and hide it from view, he had it in his hands.

"What's this?" he asked, turning it over in his hands.

Instead of answering him, she attempted to grab the circular disk out of his hands. She didn't know what it was, but she would have like to find out on her own.

He refused to give it up, however, and before she could tell him how careless his action was, he took hold of the dial and turned it to the right in almost a full circle.

All of a sudden, both James and Lily felt rather dizzy. The sensation quickly climbed to a splitting headache, and the object they had been fighting over fell to the ground with a clatter, but neither of them took any notice. They were too busy concentrating on the throbbing pain in their heads, which was now approaching an unbearable point. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the pain ceased.

Lily glanced around the room, half expecting it to be in shambles. However, everything seemed intact and just the way it was before. At least, upon first glance, it did. But when Lily looked again, it was as though everything in the room had somehow rearranged itself and the room seemed...tidier.

Lily shook her head. Impossible. Any room with Sirius Black as an occupant could never come anywhere _near tidiness. Still, the room __was different. She got up to make a closer inspection, or at least, __would have gotten up if she weren't pinned to the floor by none other than James Potter._

Sometime during that horrible headache, she must have collapsed onto the ground, with James landing on top on her—James, who, judging from the moaning, was still recovering and unaware that the soft pillow he was lying on top of was actually Lily.

That is, until she shrieked, "Get off of me, you big oaf!" Lily forcibly shoved James onto the hard, wooden floor with a thud, brushed herself off, and stood up, wearing a satisfied grin.

James, however, was far from pleased.

"Ow! As if my head didn't hurt enough already!" He picked himself up from the floor, rubbed his sore head, and straightened his glasses.

"Aw, shut up, you wimp! We have more important matter to deal with." Lily gestured around the room.

James's eyes widened. "Whoa! How'd the room get so clean?"

Lily was equally as puzzled. She walked around the room and discovered that all of the trunks looked different. Just as she was about to open the one that was in the same spot as Sirius's, she spotted a piece of parchment on the floor, which she could have sworn hadn't been there when she was searching for his undergarments.

She picked it up, took one glance at it, and dropped it onto the floor as if it were on fire.

"POTTER!"

Startled, James looked up from where he was examining another trunk and ran over to Lily. "What is it?"

Wordlessly, Lily shakily pointed to the piece of paper on the floor, as if afraid to touch it. James was about to made a nasty comment about who was the wimp now, caught sight of her pale face, and decided against it.

He bent down and smoothed out the wrinkled sheet of parchment. It looked like somebody's History of Magic essay—a poorly written one at that. He couldn't see what was so strange about it.

He turned questioning eyes to where Lily was sitting on the bed. She sighed exasperatedly and said, "Look at the heading, you idiot."

He glanced at the top right corner and felt his legs give way. He, too, dropped the parchment and tumbled down next to Lily on the bed. It had read:

_Neville Longbottom_

_December 2, 1997 _

It was December second, all right. But the December second of twenty years in the future. 

A/N: All right, I don't like writing Author's Notes, nor do I like reading them, so I'll spare you some grief and try to keep this short. Please review! I have the second part all typed up and ready to go, so let me know if I should post, ok? And it's a lot longer than this part was! J

Disclaimer: Everything in this story that sounds even remotely familiar belongs to J.K. Rowling. 


	2. New Hairdo

Wow

Wow! Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I'm flattered, really! I've never gotten 53 reviews for one part before! You guys are the best! And now, here's Chapter 2, as requested. :)

Note: I confess, I am totally addicted to spoilers! I haven't even read PoA or GoF, and yet I read every L/J I can find! I'm sorry if some of my facts are inconsistent with what's in those books (is that where Time-Turners are mentioned?). Anyways, just thought I'd let you guys know. Now, on to the story!

**Chapter 2 **

For a few moments, neither of them moved, each lost in his or her own thoughts of what this means. Suddenly, Lily jumped off the bed and bolted out of the room. 

"Lily!" James cried, following her. He saw her dashing down the stairs and then up to the girls' dorms. He hurried after her. 

When he finally reached the sixth year girls' dorms, he stopped dead in his tracks in the doorway. Lily was crumpled into a heap on the floor, clutching the end of a trunk for support. 

"Lily?" James whispered, cautiously stepping into the room and getting ready to run in case Lily decided to take out her feelings on him. He had seen what a temper she had, and he had no desire to face it at this particular moment. 

He crept closer to her and saw the inscription on top of the trunk she was holding. "Hermione Granger," he read. 

"This was my bed!" Lily muttered. "I wanted to find that it was all some sort of joke you and your dumb friends cooked up. But, no! This is really happening, isn't it?" Lily turned her face up to his, pleading with him to say she was wrong. 

James, however, was speechless. Lily had tears running down both of her cheeks, and was looking at him with an imploring expression in her eyes. He almost gasped. Lily Evans never cried. She looked so vulnerable at that moment that James wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her. 

'WHAT? Have you lost your mind? This is Lily Evans we're talking about! You know, the girl you're supposed to hate?' James shook his head to clear away his thoughts. 

He knelt down beside her and gently slid an arm around her shoulders. Lily started to lean into him, but suddenly came to her senses and jerked out of his reach. She turned to him with her whole face flaming red, wearing a furious expression. At any other time, James would have commented on her uncanny resemblance to a rather ripe tomato, but this was one of the rare occasions he knew to keep his mouth shut. 

"You!" Lily screamed. "This is all _your fault! If you hadn't been stupid enough to turn that dial, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place! And how dare you touch me!" _

James was taken aback. He had never seen Lily this angry, even at him. He tried to reason with her. "Don't blame it entirely on me! After all, you were the one who found it! Admit it, you were probably going to turn it anyway once you were in your own room." 

"WHAT? I WAS NOT! UNLIKE A CERTAIN SELF-CENTERED JERK, I ACTUALLY THINK BEFORE I ACT!" 

Lily was on her feet now, with both of her fists clenched at her sides.

James felt his own anger boiling up, but realized that they were getting nowhere acting like this.

"Evans, come on, we aren't going to solve the problem this way. Let's go find Dumbledore. Maybe he can tell us how to get out of this whole mess."

Lily drew in a few deep breaths and nodded. "Yeah." No matter how much she wanted to continue to blame James, she had to admit that he was right. There was plenty of time for arguing _after they got back to their own time._

The two of them headed down the stairs and out of the common room, marveling at how, for the most part, Gryffindor Tower hadn't changed much in twenty years.

"Guess Dumbledore's not too big on remodeling," James remarked.

This made Lily pause in the middle of the hallway. "Um, Potter? How do we know that Dumbledore's still Headmaster?"

James also halted. "We don't. We can only hope so."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's great. Just wonderful."

James sighed. "There's only one way to find out. Come on." He led the way to Dumbledore's office, and stopped upon reaching the statue of the extremely ugly gargoyle.

As James and Lily were contemplating whether or not to knock or just wait until someone found them, a familiar voice behind them said, "Ah. I see that I have visitors."

The two teenagers turned around and gaped at the sight before them. The two adults were equally shocked. Then, with a resounding thud, the woman fainted dead away onto the floor.

Dumbledore recovered his composure first. "James and Lily? But…how?" he questioned.

Neither of the two teens answered. They were still reeling from the shock of seeing McGonagall, a twenty-year-older McGonagall at that, faint.

Finally, Dumbledore said, "Let's go into my office and talk about this in private, shall we?"

James and Lily nodded numbly.

"_Levitatus!" Dumbledore cried, and McGonagall's still form rose from the ground. It floated ahead of them as Dumbledore said the password, "Lemon drop," and they entered into a spacious room. On one side of the wall, there was a cluttered desk with assortments of parchment, pictures, and miscellaneous objects. Various diplomas hung on the wall, displaying Dumbledore's many accomplishments. A large bird was perched on a stand next to several overstuffed couches and easy chairs._

Dumbledore gestured toward two of the chairs and lowered McGonagall's unconscious figure onto one of the couches. James and Lily both took a seat as far away from each other as possible.

"Now, would either of you like to explain what's going on?" Dumbledore asked.

Lily told him the whole story, making sure to emphasize the fact that it had been _James who had turned the dial on the object. Upon hearing this statement repeated yet again, James's earlier sympathy for Lily vanished, replaced with his usual detest. However, he did not interrupt, for he did feel a certain amount of guilt._

"…And it read Hermione Granger where my trunk should have been. So we decided to try and find you," Lily concluded.

James snorted. Of course Lily hadn't mentioned the fact that she had broken down and cried, or that she had only wanted to stand around and argue pointlessly. And she seemed to have conveniently forgotten that it did been _he, and not __them that had thought of going to find Dumbledore._

The headmaster seemed to detect some missing parts of the story, as well, and turned to James with amusement in his eyes. "Is that what happened, James?"

"More or less," James muttered, not really wanted to go into it right now. Better keep it bottled up and unleash it all later with Lily getting the brunt of it.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily, and then he suddenly turned serious. "Words can not express how much I have missed two of the best students this school has even seen," he said softly. Lily could have sworn she saw tears in the old headmaster's eyes.

Professor McGonagall choose that moment to return to consciousness, and when she saw who was in the room along with Dumbledore and herself, she almost fainted again. "So it _was the two of you," she whispered. "My eyes weren't playing tricks on me after all."_

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, it is truly Lily and James. They discovered a Time-Turner and have traveled across a span of twenty years."

McGonagall gasped. "But…but that means they're only…"

"…sixteen," Dumbledore finished. "Ah, I remember quite clearly how they acted towards each other at that age." He winked at McGonagall, who, through her daze, managed a weak smile back.

Lily and James were confused. _At that age, Dumbledore had said. Did that mean their feelings changed? Lily shook her head. No, that was impossible. James Potter would always be the world-class jerk in her eyes._

Catching James's look of disdain, she knew he felt the same way. Yes, that was how things would always be. And she liked it that way.

James's voice cut into her thoughts. "How are we going to get back, Professor Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore looked startled but got over it quickly. "I keep forgetting that in your time, you and Mrs.—er, _Ms.—Evans still attend Hogwarts. Please forgive me. Now what was it you asked?"_

James repeated the question.

Dumbledore looked shocked. "Why, through the Time-Turner, of course. You do have it with you, right?"

James and Lily looked at each other with alarm. They recalled fighting over it, James had turned the dial and then that horrible headache had overwhelmed them. Come to think of it, Lily couldn't remember seeing the Time-Turner at all after the pain had stopped. She had been too disturbed by the different surroundings to bother thinking about it.

"Um, we're not sure, Professor," Lily replied worriedly.

"Well, was hanging on one of your wrists or necks or anything?" Dumbledore inquired.

"No," James said slowly, looking at the faces of the two professors and immediately wished he hadn't. McGonagall's expression was bordering panic, and Dumbledore was looking unusually grim.

"But you can send us back without it, right?" Lily quickly added, searching their faces for a reaction. 

Dumbledore's face slowly turned to meet hers and she already knew the answer before he spoke. "I'm afraid not, Lily."

James and Lily's faces fell, and both felt the despair and hopelessness of the situation. Here they were, trapped twenty years out of their own time, with no evident way to get back.

Dumbledore's voice broke through their thoughts. "Well, I guess we might as well make the best out of the circumstances. The two of you are exchange students from America who are visiting our school, so try not to look so glum. Professor McGonagall and I will see to arrangements and robes for you. Try not to worry. We'll figure out a solution, somehow."

James and Lily nodded, for what else could they do? They might as well pose as students, and try their best to be cheerful.

"Minerva, would you kindly see that two extra beds and trunks are placed in the sixth year Gryffindor rooms?"

McGonagall nodded, and was making her exit when Dumbledore called her back. "But first, we need to do something about this hair of his," he said, gesturing to James's wild mop.

"Oh, yes of course. I'm afraid there would be much confusion otherwise."

With sparkling eyes, Dumbledore asked, "Would you do the honors, Minerva?" The headmaster knew that James Potter's untamed hair was one of the many things about him that had annoyed her during his time at Hogwarts.

She gladly accepted. Stepping back inside the room, she started walking towards him.

James was thoroughly confused. Why did they need to change his hair? He liked his hair the way it was. Involuntarily, he took a few steps back, as if that would protect him against whatever spell McGonagall was about to cast.

Lily, on the other hand, was finding the whole situation utterly hilarious. When she saw the horrified expression on James's face, she almost doubled over with laughter, tears of mirth trailing down her cheeks.

James shot a killer glare her way, but unfortunately for him, McGonagall chose this exact moment to cast the spell. As James was too busy shooting death rays at Lily, he failed to notice the sparks of light headed for his hair until it was too late.

The glimmering spell embedded itself in his hair, and it looked as if his whole head was a golden ball of light.

This did it for Lily, who sank to the ground, clutching her stomach from the pain of too much laughter.

Only when the glowing finally subsided, did Lily dare to look at James. What she saw made her mouth drop open in amazement. James's hair was no longer hanging in untidy clumps, but smoothed to either side of his head, with a wave of it falling diagonally across his forehead. It was actually _neat, as opposed to being its usual tangled, unmanageable mess._

'He is…' Lily forced herself to leave the thought unfinished.

Seeing Lily's stunned expression, James turned to McGonagall and grinned. "Professor, could you possibly teach me the spell? Something that can keep Evans quiet for this long has to be good, right?"

Finally, Lily recovered from her shock. "I'm just surprised that the spell actually affected that jungle you called hair."

The two professors glanced at each other knowingly.

"So, anyway," Lily cleared her throat, becoming uncomfortable with the silence, "why did James have to change his hair again?"

"Let's just say that there would be a few…identity issues otherwise," McGonagall replied, but both her and Dumbledore refused to divulge any further. "You'll see," was all they would say.

"Speaking of identities, Lily, I think something needs to be done about those eyes of yours. They are a rather startlingly shade of green, are they not?"

Lily started to back away in horror. "Uh-uh. No way. Not my eyes!" Lily cried, forgetting that this was the headmaster she was talking to. Even though James and his gang had teased her on numerous occasions about being a "Green-eyed Monster", she still loved her unique eyes. All of her friends also thought the color was quite pretty.

"What do you think, Minerva?"

"It definitely does not present as big of a problem as James's hair did. It would be wise to alter them, but seeing as how Lily is quite appalled at the idea, I say leave them be."

"Very well, then. Lily, your eyes stay green."

Lily almost collapsed with relief at this.

James, on the other hand, was not as pleased. "That surely can't be fair!" he exclaimed. "So why did my hair have to be changed?"

Again, Dumbledore and McGonagall evaded the question.

"Well, since that's taken care of, I shall see to the arrangements." And the Transfiguration teacher hurried away.

After she left, Dumbledore turned his attention back to the two students. "Now then, we need to do something about your names."

Neither Lily nor James questioned Dumbledore this time, because they knew that they weren't going to get a straight answer. Instead, they merely listened as Dumbledore selected new names for them.

"You, Lily Evans, are now Lillian Parker."

He then turned to James. "And you, James Potter, are now Jonathan Whitman."

Both James and Lily tried out their new names, sounding them out. Seeming satisfied, they turned back to Dumbledore.

"Now, remember, many of the older professors may receive quite a shock to see you. Please try to refrain from giving them too much trouble. Especially Professor S—" Dumbledore thought better of finishing the name. "Well, you'll find out who I mean soon enough. Professor McGonagall should be just about done with your rooms. Come."

Oooh, so do they meet Harry...or not? Guess you'll have to wait and see! :) I'm halfway through the next part! It should be done by Tuesday at the latest. Review, please!

**~Thank You Section~**

Mayleesa, Valerie, SEEKER_2000, Trinity Day (love your stories, btw!), FairyKisses, Carmen, Bon, Black Sparkles, jessica potter, Alexis, ~~~Katy_Black~~~, wildflower, AMB3R, Trista_Setsuna (I'll read The Prank Bet soon! Promise!), amanda, pippy182, JadedGurl, Cassie, Rinoa3Squall, harry's girl 3, kandimoon, jennylovesnick, Jessica Potter, Erin, sugarbaby, Stephanie Batts, Wanderer, Amanda Gagnon, Prongs (love A New Beginning), Lovin Jamsie Potter!, StereoM, vmr, Piper Winters, pudadingding, Chaos, persephone malfoy, phoenix, Kate, BG, C.p, Lils, Fire Lizid, pottergirl, Kitten-girl, Amberblaze, amaia riddle, smiley chic, Bridget, Sweetened Sugar, peppy, bluemeanies, Lily Alyssa Potter, Mike Potter

**~Questions&Answers~**

JadedGurl: Are they? Really? If you read my note before the story, you'll see why I made that mistake. Sorry!

pottergirl: Like I said after this part, you'll have to wait 'til the next part! Hehehe. Aren't I evil?


	3. Meet Harry

New Page 1

I know that I said Tuesday, but I also said at the _latest_. So, Persephone Malfoy, you got your wish! :)

A/N: Oh yeah, I forgot that in the last part, the last names Parker and Whitman were borrowed from the TV show, Roswell. I figured that I should disclaim them just in case (thanks, Lilly Potter). Not that anyone really _owns_ surnames, but...

**Chapter 3 **

They followed Dumbledore down the hallways and stopped in front of the Gryffindor entrance. He conjured up two pieces of parchment. "These are your new schedules. Don't give your professors," at this he shot a warning look—though there was a definite twinkle in his eye—at James, "or each other too much trouble. And try not to worry the professors and I will try our best to work something out. All right, I think I'd best be getting along now. The password is 'Rice Pudding.' Have a good night!" 

That said, Dumbledore strode away, leaving James and Lily standing at the entrance to the common room.

"Hello? Are you two going in, or just going to stand here all night?" 

James and Lily turned at the sound of the Fat Lady's impatient voice and said the password. The painting noiselessly swung open, and the two teenagers braced themselves for a crowd of unfamiliar faces asking them a million questions about their "other school" and what life was like in "America."

To their surprise, the place looked deserted, like before. The only other person in the room was McGonagall, who was coming down the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories. 

"Well, the rooms are ready. I trust that the two of you won't wreak too much havoc?" She gave a particularly severe look to James, who just grinned, delighted that she had remembered his being a member of the infamous Marauders.

'I vow to carry on the work alone, even if Remus, Sirius, and Peter aren't here,' he thought to himself. 

After McGonagall left, James and Lily took a look at their schedules.

James immediately groaned. "Oh great, Binns is _still teaching! Can't they hire someone who is actually here and in the flesh? Jeez! And Trelawney's still here, too! Now I'll have to predict a different gruesome death every week to keep her happy! This time thing's going to turn out to be a real drag! Don't you think so, Evans?" _

James waited for a response, still looking at his schedule and groaning, but his companion was silent. "Evans?"

He ventured a peek at her face, afraid that the earlier fury had returned. Instead, he found himself looking at a very pale Lily, whose eyes were glued to her schedule. Just as he was about to ask her what was wrong, she burst out laughing. 

He stared at her. "What's gotten into you?" She responded by rolling onto the floor with a loud thump. James wondered if she had gone quite mad.

He glanced over his schedule again, trying to find something humorous about it, but the only thing strange about it was that he didn't seem to have nearly as many classes as before. Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions were among the missing classes. 

'Maybe Dumbledore had wizened up, and cancelled those courses. All for the better, I never liked them much anyway. Shame that he couldn't have realized that twenty years ago,' James thought.

He still couldn't figure out why Lily was clutching her stomach and moaning on the floor. He endured the ceaseless giggling for another few minutes. Finally, he became impatient and yelled, "Will you shut up, already?" 

She seemed to calm down a bit at this, and her amusement was reduced to a few chuckles. "It's not that funny, actually, but aren't you at least surprised?"

He was confused. Surprised by what? 

Seeing his baffled look, she took a quick glimpse at his schedule and let out a groan of frustration. "The other side, you idiot! Didn't you notice that half your classes were missing?"

He could have slapped himself. Of course Dumbledore wouldn't have deleted those courses from the curriculum. Not after those lectures on the importance of them that Sirius always got whenever he tried to complain about how useless they were. And now James had made himself look like an idiot in front of Lily. 

'Whoa! Since when did I care what Carrot-Top thought of me?'

James flipped over the piece of parchment, and sure enough, all of the missing classes were accounted for. He was halfway through scanning the list when his gaze came to a sudden halt and his mouth dropped opened in shock. 

Then he, too, cracked up and tried to imagine the greasy-haired Slytherin as a Potions teacher, but quickly gave up. He couldn't see Snape as _any teacher, much less one of __his teachers._

This last thought sobered him a great deal, as he realized that he would have to obey the orders of his worst enemy. He shuddered. Potions was _not going to be fun. _

"That's probably not the biggest surprise you're gonna get, either, Potter." The voice of Lily Evans cut into his thoughts. He gaped at her. What could possibly be more shocking than Snape being his teacher?

He answered his own question a few moments later when he came to the last class on the schedule. 

"No bloody way," he muttered.

But it was true. "Defense Against the Dark Arts taught by Professor Remus Lupin" was printed as clear as day on the piece of parchment. _Great. In addition to being bossed around by his worst enemy, he would have to sit through a class taught by one of his best friends. This could definitely be interesting… _

Just then, the portrait swung open to reveal a solitary girl with bushy brown hair making her way into the common room. When she saw the two figures already in the room, she immediately rushed over.

"Hello! You two must be the new exchange students!" She smiled warmly at them, although James thought she looked rather like a rabbit with her two large front teeth. 

He kept his opinion to himself, however, and stuck out his hand. "I'm Jam…er—Jonathon Whitman. But you can call me Jon."

"And I'm Lillian Parker, but I go by Anne. Pleased to meet you." 

The girl nodded pleasantly. "Honored to make your acquaintance." James almost snorted at the girl's formality. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way."

Lily blanched in recognition of the name, but recovered quickly. 

At that moment, two boys came in through the portrait hole, laughing. The taller of the two had fiery red hair that was even brighter than Lily's, but this was not the reason for James and Lily's amazement.

Instead, they were staring with total astonishment at the other boy, who, with his messy black hair and glasses, could have been James's twin. At least, James's twin before McGonagall changed his hair. 

The shorter boy noticed their expressions and smiled tolerantly as he walked over. "I'm Harry Potter," he said matter-of-factly, as if stating something that he could tell they already knew.

Both Lily and James looked as if they were about to faint from this information. 

Lily found her voice first. "H-Harry P-P-Potter?" she whispered in disbelief. "I'm meeting Harry _Potter?" she repeated in a stronger tone._

James managed a small grin. Potter! This must be his son! Harry looked just like him! Obviously, the glasses and family hairstyle had been inherited. The only things that were different about the two of them were that Harry was shorter and had blue eyes, instead of James's brown ones. 

Harry must be why Dumbledore and McGonagall had insisted that he have his hair changed. James could definitely see how many misunderstandings there would be, otherwise.

Harry was looking at Lily with a polite, but disinterested smile on his face. "Listen, um…" he trailed off uncertainly, not knowing the girl's name. 

"Anne. Anne Parker," Hermione supplied helpfully.

"Okay. Listen, Anne, I would love to stay and chat, but I have a lot of homework to do, so I'll see you later all right? Bye!" Harry hurried up to the boys' dormitories. 

There was an awkward silence, finally broken by Hermione. "I'm sure Harry didn't mean to be so rude, but you mustn't think it's because the fame has all gone straight to his head. It's the exact opposite, in fact. Harry hates all the attention he gets, and he feels extremely uncomfortable whenever anyone mentions it. As long as you treat him like a normal human being, he's perfectly friendly."

"A Potter? Friendly? Ha! That would be the day!" Lily replied skeptically. 

James just rolled his eyes at this. However, he was pleased with the information Hermione had told them. Obviously, the Potters were still a highly respected family. From what Hermione had provided, it seemed like the name of Potter had gotten even more famous in the wizarding community. And to think that his father had always doubted him!

Finally, he noticed the other boy in the room, who had remained quiet this whole time. James introduced himself and stuck out his hand. 

The boy accepted his outstretched hand. "I'm Ron Weasley. Nice to meet you."

James observed that Ron's eyes kept darting to where Lily and Hermione were engaged in a conversation. He almost laughed out loud. Looks like someone has got a crush on old Carrot-Top! Such a shame that the said someone happened to be twenty years younger. 

James chatted with Ron for a few more minutes before making his way up to the boys' dorms, in search of Harry. He wanted to find out what his son was like, and if Harry loved pranks as much as he did. Maybe they could team up and place a few select curses on Evans.

James came to the door leading to the sixth year boys' dorms and pushed it open, without bothering to knock. After all, this was also his dorm now, wasn't it?

A/N: Ok, this chapter was originally going to be longer, but then I realized that Chapter 4 would be too short if it stopped where I wanted it to. So I tagged the rest of this chapter onto Chapter 4, which means 1.) yes, I have Chapter 4 done but 2.) you'll have to review to get me to post it! :) Hehehe...

**~Thanks to:~**

mel_potter, Mayleesa, regina, Eternity, vmr, peachylaura, Cassie, meg, hermioneqc, Bon, SEEKER_2000, Linda, Lady Lupin, Amberblaze, phoenix, C.p, Persephone Malfoy, dumbledore (although there really wasn't a review, but thanx anyway!), Aurora, Jivanna, Giesbrecht, starkitty, Carly, Lilly Potter, Sandra Solaria Dees, Chris, phoenixGrl***, zoe, Mione, wulfpaw, Atira

Sorry if I missed anyone or if I misspelled your name! I'm a bit tired.

**~Questions&Answers~**

(Be forewarned, I don't say anything you don't already know)

peachylaura: Not telling! Nope! *g*

Linda: Well, they've seen Harry...not that they've exactly said much to each other. In fact, James didn't really say anything at all. Kinda anticlimatic, if you ask me...

Persephone Malfoy: Like I said before, it's tomorrow (yesterday's tomorrow, at least)! And I posted! 

Lilly Potter: My fav. char. _used_ to be Max, but that was before s2 screwed it all up and my opinion of him went waaaaaay down. And Alex...*sob* sadness... (email me if you want to chat more) Anywho, lots of questions to answer! Let's see...*ticks them off her fingers* Harry met them, not that _he_ knows; Dumbledore and McGonagall already know; Will they find out about the marriage? Hmm, good question... hehehe Basically, this whole thing didn't help you at all! But that was my intention! :)

Mione: Well, considering Remus is their teacher, I would assume so.

Atira: Are they hourglasses? Like I said in the Author's Note before Chapter 2, I haven't read the 3rd and 4th books yet, so my facts may be a bit off.


	4. You're From When?

Chapter 4

A/N: 122 reviews!!!!! Wow! Thanks everyone! I'm touched, really! *goes around and starts shaking hands*

I had totally forgotten that I said Harry's eyes were blue when I posted the chapter! No, it wasn't a mistake. (You guys honestly think I don't remember that lovely little valentine Ginny sent him in CoS?) The explanation's in this chapter. If you read my author's note at the end of Chapter 3, I said that the chapter was originally going to be longer, but then Chapter 4 would have been too short. I guess I cut the explanation off when I re-divided the chapters. Sorry! I made his eyes blue so that Lily and James wouldn't notice the resemblance between Lily and Harry's eye color. I mean, what fun would that have been? :)

As for my other mistakes (I know, there's tons of them!), I'll try to fix them as soon as possible. I might keep my version of the Time-Turner, though. I rather like it. Anyway...

**Chapter 4 **

After he had rushed out of the common room, Harry went straight to his dorm and flopped down onto the bed. He hoped that Anne wouldn't turn out to be another one of the girls who followed him around and worshipped the very ground he walked on. During his fifth year, his fan clubs had died down a great deal, due to the disastrous events of the Triwizard Tournament. However, it seemed that this year, all of his admirers had returned anew, more annoying than ever.

Suddenly, Harry realized how rude he must have seemed. The other boy hadn't even gotten a chance to introduce himself before Harry had dashed out of there. In truth, Harry really didn't have that much homework. The only thing he had left to do was a Transfiguration essay that wasn't due until the following week.

He walked over to the mirror and took in his reflection, his messy black hair sticking up in all angles as always. At first, the light blue eyes that stared back at him instead of the usual striking green startled him. Then he remembered the Iris Potion he had made that day in Snape's class.

'Better get used to this eye color,' Harry thought, recalling how Snape had told them that it would last for one to two weeks.

Harry moved away from the mirror and paced the length of his room, trying to decide how to occupy himself. He definitely couldn't return to the common room, considering how eager he had been to escape. Hermione would mostly likely be irritated at him and give him a lecture on manners. He didn't feel like doing his Transfiguration essay, and he didn't have the necessary research done, anyhow.

Just when he concluded that he was going to have to sit around in his room and wait for one of the others to come up, the door opened.

~*~*~*~

James saw Harry pacing back and forth across the room with a bored expression on his face and grinned. "Really busy doing homework, I see."

Harry looked up, startled. "Um…" he said, not knowing what to say.

To his relief, James didn't seem to hold it against him. "Don't worry, I would've hightailed it out of there, too, if Ev—er…_Anne had been staring at me like that. I don't believe we've officially met. I'm Jon Whitman."_

Harry nodded and grinned. Jon didn't seem that bad. "So, uh, how do you like Hogwarts? Not that you've seen much of it yet."

James smiled wryly at the irony of this remark. He knew practically every secret passage in the school, and was one of the four founders of the Marauders Map.

"It's okay, I guess. But then again, I can't really judge yet, can I?"

"Guess not," Harry replied.

The two made some more polite conversation for a bit. James was starting to get bored, so he decided that it was time to spill the beans to Harry, who obviously couldn't figure out his true identity because of his new hair style and the sheer absurdity of it.

After all, Dumbledore had never actually said _not to tell anyone about who he really was. The headmaster had just changed his name so that the whole school didn't find out and get all worked up. Besides, James felt like his own son had a right to know._

"Listen, Harry, I know this may sound strange to you and all, but there's something you need to know about me and Anne Parker."

~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, down in the common room, Ron, Hermione and "Anne" were hitting it off.

Once he had overcome his initial shyness around Anne, Ron discovered that the girl was actually quite pleasant to talk to. 'She seems like the type of person that you can trust with your darkest secret,' Ron thought.

"So, Anne, did you know that other exchange student before you came to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked.

Lily stiffened at the mention of James. During the past hour or so since he had gone upstairs, she had almost forgotten their predicament and whose fault it was. But now, it came back to her full force.

"I guess you can said that," Lily replied carefully. "We went to the same school, but we don't exactly…get along."

Hermione nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I know how _that feels." She thought of Draco Malfoy and his goons._

"Oh, really? You don't really seem like the type that makes a lot of enemies," Lily responded.

"Draco Malfoy and his henchmen are enemies with _everybody who's not a Slytherin. But Harry, Hermione and I have it the worst because Harry refused to be friends with Malfoy."_

"Draco _Malfoy?" Lily asked incredulously. Surely…__surely he couldn't be __Lucius Malfoy's son? She didn't know if she could handle it if he were. Having another Potter at the school was already bad enough._

~*~*~*~

"…and so, Dumbledore thought up the story of the two of us being exchange students and changed our names," James finished.

Harry was stunned. So these two new students were actually from twenty years in the past? It was incredible. Too incredible.

"I don't believe you," Harry stated flatly.

James was shocked. He had thought of the various reactions Harry could have, but the idea that Harry might think him a liar who had invented the whole story never even crossed his mind.

"I swear I'm telling the truth! I wouldn't make up something like that just to … just to…" he trailed off, unsure of a reason he would have for lying.

"Get attention?" Harry added.

"No! Believe me, I get enough attention in my own time. More than I really want, actually."

"All right, fine. Let's just pretend for a minute that this absurd story is true. Where did you get the Time-Turner?"

"_I didn't find it. Anne did. It was in one of the trunks in my dorm."_

"What was Anne doing in your dorm?" Harry questioned.

"I assume that she was looking for prank material. I'm not sure, though. She never really said. But judging from the fact that she was about to make off with a pair of my boxers—" Harry burst out laughing at this point and James had to pause, "—I suppose that's what she was doing."

"Uh-_huh. Are you sure that's __all she was planning to do with them?" Harry smirked._

James was silent for a few moments, trying to grasp the meaning behind the words. "Oh, that is just plain disgusting! Of course she only wanted them for a prank! Anne hates me, all right? She wouldn't go anywhere _near my undergarments if it weren't to humiliate me."_

Harry's grin just grew wider at this.

Suddenly, James realized something. "So, this means that you believe me?" he asked hopefully.

Harry thought for a while. "Hmm … maybe. I don't know yet."

Then, a sudden idea struck him. "Hey! You're supposedly from twenty years in the past, right?"

"I _am from twenty years in the past," James corrected._

Harry pretended to ignore this. "Does that mean you knew Snape when he was a student?"

James chuckled. "_Did I? He was only my worst enemy! Of course I knew him! And he was in my year, too!"_

"Ugh … that must have been horrible! So, what was he like? Was he always the nasty slimeball he is now?"

"Of course he was! And I'll bet that he hasn't washed his hair once in the twenty years since I last saw him!"

The two boys both cracked up at this, even though James had only been stating the obvious.

"Jon?" Harry asked, when they had calmed down a bit.

"Yeah?"

"I think I believe your story."

James smiled. "Good."

"So, what's your real name?"

James didn't respond for a few seconds, trying to judge how Harry would take this. Finally, he replied, "James Potter."

A/N: Oopsie-daisies! Was that another cliffie from me? I think it might have been! I don't know when I started liking cliffies so much! Due to some of the reviews, I won't tell you if I have the next chapter finished or not, so as not to torture you guys anymore than I already have. (maybe that's because I DON'T have the chapter done for a change? Or do I? Hmm...)

Oh yeah! Guess what! (Not that you care) I got PoA yesterday! Yippee! I'm not very far yet, but I just got it last night, and I haven't really gotten around to reading it that much. Now, if you evil people would quit demanding more parts of this story, I might actually have some free time to read it! NO! I didn't mean that! Review! Review! Really!!! (Was there a point? No, not really. Just me and my incessant babbling. You'll learn to tune it out and stick to the important stuff. And you thought I didn't like writing author's notes!)

**~Thank You's~**

bluemeanies, Sandra Solaria Dees, Karina, linda, peppy, Jivanna, dan, phoenix, Persephone Malfoy, Phoenix_Mage, Trinity Day, vmr, raeban, BabBlGrl, sax_playa, amanda, hi, Eternity, phoenixGrl***, Mione, Someone2 and Krazy Kris, Kcarke, wulfpaw, Lady Lupin, miss pms, Lilly Potter, Mel, *Lil Lily*, Shadow, Black Sparkles, Quack Quack 88, Juliana Black, Amberblaze, Prongs, Pylite

**~Questions, Answers, and the Such~**

IMHO, these are slightly better responses than last times. But then again, that's me and my cruel mind's way of thinking. You'll have to judge for yourself, unless you want to take my word for it. Don't know if you'll want to do that...

bluemeanies: I don't know why Dumbledore didn't put them in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. I probably should know, since I wrote the thing, but I don't. 

linda: Well, old Jamsie-Boy kinda spilled the beans to Harry... No more surprise there...

Phoenix_Mage: What's wrong with Harry? Hmm, maybe the whole Triwizard thing made him more sensitive about his fame than before. I wouldn't really know, since I haven't read GoF yet. Or maybe it was because Lily was gawking at him.

Trinity Day: Sorry for dangling the carrot! I'm getting better, see? I didn't do it in this chapter! Or maybe that's just because I don't have a carrot to dangle.

Eternity: Yes, everyone can see that Harry's eyes are blue.

Someone2: No, I didn't mean you when I said s2. I meant season 2 of Roswell! Sorry for the confusion! :( No, you didn't sound mean. Don't worry 'bout it. (I'm sure you've already spent countless night tossing and turning in your bed because of that. :) Even though there's only been one night since I last posted.)

Kcarke: I'll fix the teeth thing ASAP! Which, for me since I'm lazy, may very well mean it may never get fixed at all...

Lady Lupin: Bubotuber? Eek!! I posted! See? It's right here! Please spare me! *gets down on her knees and begs*

Lilly Potter: Yeah, I think I've gone into withdrawal, too. But I don't get UPN. :( My friend said she might be getting satellite soon, and hopefully she'll have UPN on that. :) Yes, I agree with you. Ron is definitely better than Harry! But it's still pretty sick.

Juliana Black: Funny? Really? Thank you ever so much! I've never really viewed myself as someone who can write funny stories. *walks around with a smile on her face*


	5. In Dumbledore's Office

Chapter 5

Hi everyone! I'm baaaaack! :) Did ya miss me? Huh? What's that?

Sorry for the extremely long wait (two weeks today, in fact), but I've had this done for a while and I realized I hadn't posted it yet! A mere memory lapse, honest!!

Okay, IMHO, this chapter isn't that great. Certainly not as good as some of the previous ones. The first scene is pretty much irrelevant...just a wacky teachers' "meeting." But I guess it's your opinion which really counts, so...

**Chapter 5 **

When Dumbledore walked into his office with McGonagall, the room instantly fell silent and all eyes turned to him.

Dumbledore beamed. "Thank you all for coming here at such short notice. A rather extraordinary event has occurred, and I wish to prepare everyone for what will come as quite a shock to each person in this room, although some more than others." At this, his gaze flitted quickly to several individuals, including a wizard with light brown hair and another with oily-looking black hair.

"It has come true, then! I have foreseen it!" The speaker was a rather thin witch who had leapt out of her seat in excitement.

"Oh, do have a seat!" McGonagall snapped impatiently.

The witch meekly sat back down. "Yes, Minerva."

"The Dark Lord hasn't struck again, has he?" asked the rather unpleasant-looking man with the oily hair.

"No, Severus. This has nothing to do with Voldemort," Dumbledore replied, ignoring the gasps of fear and shudders expressed throughout the room at the mention of the dreaded name. "No, what has happened is quite remarkable. It involves the unintentional use of a Time-Turner."

A moan came from the same thin witch who had spoken before. "Some poor soul stumbled across one and accidentally used it? And now they're trapped out of their own time, aren't they? Oh, they will meet a terrible fate! It is the prophecy!"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake! Be quiet, Sibyll!" McGonagall ordered.

"No, no! I will not be quiet! I sense danger! The unfortunate being will meet a gruesome and terrible end! Oh, _oh!" Trelawney collapsed onto the floor, still babbling on. Dumbledore tried to comfort her, but she would have none of it. The poor woman was hysterical._

Dumbledore looked thoughtful and said quietly to McGonagall, "You know, her story does seem to have a ring of truth to it. After all, they _do die an awful and untimely death. Perhaps this Divination thing is more accurate than we give it credit for."_

"Oh, please, Albus. Don't tell that even a sensible man like you is starting to believe in this nonsense! _All of her so-called visions result in death or something equally as horrific. It's all a load of hogwash, really!" Minerva turned to frown disapprovingly at Dumbledore, but he had gone over to his desk and removed a package of lemon drops, which were currently being passed around the room._

Minerva sighed and turned to Professor Sprout instead. "Take this silly woman to the hospital wing and have Poppy look after her. I really don't feel like dealing with her gibberish at the moment. I'll fill you in later."

Professor Sprout consented and left the room, dragging a protesting Trelawney after her.

Everyone in the room—with the exception of Dumbledore, who was looking around the room and trying to figure out what out become of his lemon drops—breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now then," McGonagall stated briskly, "back to business. Would you like to explain, Albus?"

"Yes, after I find out who has my lemon drops!"

The others just stared at the headmaster, and when they realized he was serious, got down on their hands and feet to look for the missing bag of sweets.

McGonagall regarded the whole scene with disgust. "What's the matter with you all? Are you wizards and witches or not? _Accio Lemon Drop!"_

A piece of candy flew to McGonagall from in between two couch cushions and would have hit her in the face had she not ducked just in time.

Instead, it hit the wall behind her and fell to the floor. Minerva was indignant and became even more so when she discovered that Dumbledore was trying his best not to chuckle.

She marched over to the couch and retrieved the troublesome bag of candy. "Here you are, Albus," she said, handing the amused headmaster his sweets. "Now, can we _please get on with it?"_

~*~*~*~

Harry stared at the boy in front of him, who was exactly the same age as he, yet was claiming to be his father. His _dead father._

"Look, Jon, I know I claimed to believe you before, but I definitely don't now! Do you actually expect me to buy that absurd story?"

"What will it take to convince you?"

Harry thought for a moment, then walked over to his trunk and pulled out what looked like a wrinkled piece of parchment. At least, it did to the normal eye.

James, however, immediately recognized its significance. "The Marauder's Map!" he cried. Harry was evidently surprised by this, but offered the parchment to James without showing too much amazement.

Without hesitation, James recited, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." He tapped the parchment with the wand he had pulled out of the pocket of his robes. Lines began to form on the surface of the seemingly blank parchment. Within seconds, a drawing of the secret passages of Hogwarts, as well as many little dots indicating where everyone in the castle was, appeared.

James sneaked a look at Harry, who was stunned. With a small smile, James said, "Mischief managed."

Harry gave a start when the lines start to disappear once again. James crossed his arms and asked, "You believe me now?"

Harry hesitated, and seemed to consider the possibility. Then, he fervently shook his head. "No! You could have learned that…" he paused, "somewhere," he finished lamely.

James frowned and thought for a moment. "You don't happen to have an invisibility cloak, by any chance? _My invisibility cloak?"_

Harry paled considerably. "H-How d-d-do you—"

James only smiled.

Seeing this, Harry glared at James and muttered, "Lucky guess."

James let out a sigh of exasperation. "All right, fine. What will it take to convince you?"

Harry was deep in thought for a few seconds. "Only if I hear it from Dumbledore himself."

"All right, then. Let's go."

Harry was shocked. "Go? _Now?"_

"Yeah, why not? You said you wanted his word, so why shouldn't we go see him now?"

"Okay, okay. Whatever. This is probably some stupid joke you thought up. It's rather pointless, if you ask me. But if you're in such a hurry to make a total fool out of yourself, then come on."

The two of them headed down to the common room, where Hermione, Ron and Lily were sitting. The other students in the room where all crowded around Lily, bombarding her with questions.

Lily looked up when she heard people on the stairs, dreading more questions. For the first time in her life, she was relieved to see James. 'Maybe they will go bother him instead,' she thought hopefully. 'I'm tired of having to make up answers to what America's like.'

Her wish came true. He was surrounded just as he made it to the bottom of the stairs. Harry and James fought their way through the small mob and managed to reach the portrait hole.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Hermione demanded of Harry.

"Um, I'll explain later, Mione. See ya!"

Harry and James rushed out of there, both eager to escape the madhouse.

To Harry's surprise, his companion knew exactly which way to go. 'Dumbledore must have taken him there when he first arrived, to get sorted and such,' Harry reasoned. 'Still, Jon does seem to know the way awfully well.' Harry brushed the thought out of his head.

They paused in front of the extremely ugly gargoyle and were surprised to hear loud voices coming from the inside. Voices of the various professors, judging from the tones. They hesitated, debating whether or not to say the password.

James was struck by a sudden thought. 'If the professors are holding a meeting, that means Snape might be there!' He grinned mischievously, imagining the expression on Snape's face.

"Lemon drop!" James stated loudly, and the gargoyle swung open. They reached the down at the top of the stairs, which swung open when someone inside the room called out, "Come in!"

Instantly, all eyes were turned in James and Harry's direction. For a moment, there was absolute, stunned silence. Then, several gasps could be heard from various areas of the room.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Well, this was what I meant by the accident with the Time-Turner. I had intended to give a bit more warning but, obviously, it is a tad too late now. May I introduce, James and Harry Potter."

A loud thump could be heard from a corner of the room. James spied what looked suspiciously like a pile of greasy black hair slumped onto the armrest of a couch. Obviously, the owner had just banged his head hard and was most likely out cold.

James heard a faint noise next to him, and quickly turned his head in Harry's direction.

Harry definitely did not look well at all. His face had been drained of all color, and he looked like he was about to faint himself. It appeared that the only thing preventing him from doing so was the doorframe he was leaning against. He was staring at James with an overwhelmed expression.

He was not the only one. In fact, everyone in the room except for Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape—who was currently unable to look at _anyone—was gaping at James with identical looks on their faces._

A small noise could be heard from next to Dumbledore's desk as a wizard with light brown hair rose from his seat and slowly stumbled over to where James was standing.

It was James's turn to stare. "Remus?" he whispered.

*~TBC~*

*gasp* ANOTHER cliffie? Sorry! Really! I swear on Snape's life--uh, I mean James's...yeah, that's right--that the next part will NOT leave you guys hanging! I have most of it done but I know exactly how it's going to end! I should be posting it within the week! Keep on the lookout for it! Meanwhile, please drop me a line! (pssst, that means review)

**~Thank You~**

phoenixGrl***, Phoenix_Mage, Lil Lily, bluemeanies, SEEKER_2000, Lilly Potter, Sandra Solaria Dees, C.p, Black Sparkles, StarChildHlermione86, linda, Eternity, amanda, Mayleesa, peachylaura, jennylovesnick, HermioneGMalfoy, mel_potter, Amberblaze, Desert Hacker, vmr, Persephone Malfoy, Bon, BabBlGrl, hi, wulfpaw, stellar chica, Mione, phoenix, Dracona, Prongs, Cathy-chan, ahhh, HPchica778, Shadow, Mike Potter, Quack Quack 88, peppy, eb, Trista_Setsuna, Juliana Black, AuthorByNight, OrcaPotter, Jedi Cosmos, Jane, FairyKisses, Ai_chan_no_hana, cassie, ~*~silverstreak~*~, MiRanDa, ferret w/ a fez, Ann Lupin, Courtney, Netty, Amara, pottergirl, Lady Lupin, ~*Alyssa*~, SineadLuv, Ann Lupin, Fawkes, Delise Bennette, sami

**~Q&A~**

I think this section is actually _helpful_ in this chapter! Now, come on, you don't have to look so shocked!

bluemeanies: Yep, that's James and his intelligence for ya! :) Actually, sounds more like something Sirius would do... They might found out they die--I'm not entirely sure yet.

Lilly Potter: Woah! Lotsa questions as usual! :) I love reading your reviews! Right now, I'm thinking that at least one of them might find out they get married. Sirius will definitely be in the story! Ron's secret? I'm not sure I know what you're referring too... I don't know what'll happen in those classes! I haven't gotten that far in my story planning! Yes, Ginny coming into the story in the next two chapters! Hey! What do you mean, you don't expect too many answers? Am I really that bad? *sniff* My friend said that she had satellite, but I don't know if she gets UPN b/c she hasn't checked yet. I agree w/ you, definitely Liz or Maria. I'm leaning towards Liz, though, b/c I'm a Dreamgirl more than a Candygirl. Tess is a manipulating little... *seethes in anger* I miss Alex! :(

peachylaura: Spiral of secrets? I don't know about that. Ron and Hermione _might_ find out sometime in the future...

Juliana Black: AU sequel? I like that idea! Hmm... I'll consider it. Thanx! Btw, did you need a thesaurus with all those compliments? :) Flattery... hehe

Amara: Why the cliffhanger? Because I'm evil!! Hehehe! "Anne" will not tell Ron and Hermione at the moment. And how do you how Jamsie's gonna find out about Lily? Maybe he won't... Ron is _not_ going to fall in love w/ Lily! :) That's just a little crush. I might have him go with good ol' Hermione later on in the story.

pottergirl: You think he could have recognized them? Yeah, now that I think about it, probably...

Ann Lupin: Harry probably won't tell them they die. (that doesn't necessary mean that they don't find out, though) And I really want them to remember their experience in the future, so I won't have their memories erased. (most likely)

sami: Why does he have blue eyes? Read Chapter 4. Although if you're reading this right now, you've probably already read chpt. 4. :)


	6. Dumbledore's Office Again

Chapter 6

I know I said this was going to be posted last week, but I've been going to bed in the wee hours of the morning as it was, what with tests and projects and the such. I just didn't have the time or energy to finish the chapter and format it to post. Next chapter should be out sooner, though! :)

**Chapter 6 **

For what seemed like an eternity, the two friends just stared at each other. Remus couldn't believe that James was really here. James had a hard time taking in the fact that one of his best friends had turned twenty years older when, just a few hours ago, they had been the same age. 

Finally, James, who was the better prepared of the two for the shock, took a staggering step towards Remus. Right before James reached him, Remus came out of his trance. The two old friends embraced like brothers.

A small choking sound made them both turn towards the doorway, where Harry was still standing rigidly against the doorframe. "D-Dad?" he managed to whisper. 

~*~*~*~

"I think it's best that everything we have discussed _stays in this room. We are still sticking to the story that James and Lily are exchange—" _

Snape, who had chosen this precise moment to awake from his stupor, uttered, "_Lily?" He promptly sank into unconsciousness again._

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily at this reaction. "Minerva, would you kindly take Severus to the hospital wing? He may need a bit of rest to recover from this." 

McGonagall looked as if she were about to protest, but thought better of it and obligingly conjured a stretcher for the Potions master to lay upon. They exited the office, leaving the other occupants of the room in silence.

The other witches and wizards were contemplating Dumbledore's words, knowing that they would all need some time to fully accept this. 

Finally, Dumbledore spoke. "As I was saying, James and Lily are merely exchange students, for all purposes outside of this room. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. 

"Well, then. I believe that is all that can be done at the moment. I suggest that everyone get a good night's rest, and we will all try to think of a solution in the morning, when our heads are a bit clearer."

Everyone accepted this advice and began to file out of the room. However, Harry sat fixed to his seat, still unable to move. 

James was about to go over to him when Dumbledore placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. "I would like to speak with Harry for a moment. You may go back to the common room."

Without questioning his intents, James nodded wordlessly and left the office. Remus cast a worried glance at Harry and started to follow James out of the room, but Dumbledore called him back.

"What would you like to speak to us about, Professor Dumbledore?" asked Remus. 

Dumbledore smiled at him. "Remus, do I have to remind you yet again that since you are not a student here anymore, you do not have to call me by that name? Albus, please."

Remus nodded in reluctant agreement. "I will try, Pro—er—Albus." 

"Good. Now, then, as you have probably guessed, I have something of utmost importance that I wish to tell you and Harry." The wizened man looked over at Harry, who seemed to have awoken from his trance-like state somewhat since James had left the room.

The two of them waited for the headmaster to continue. Dumbledore paused to retrieve the lemon drops from his desk before doing so. 

At last, he began, "I'm sure that both of you are well aware of the dire consequences that might result from knowing the events in one's future before they're due to happen." He glanced over at his seated audience, both of whom nodded. "I must ask the both of you to refrain from informing Lily and James of what awaits them in their near future. If they were to find out, the results could very well be disastrous. I am asking this especially of the two of you, because I know how much both of you wish that things could have turned out differently."

Dumbledore stopped for a moment, surveying the faces in front of him. Harry appeared to be having an internal battle with his emotions, and the headmaster knew how hard hearing this must be for him. Remus didn't seem to be much better off, but the Defense against the Dark Arts professor had an easier time of hiding the inner turmoil. 

"On a lighter note, please try not to let it slip that they will end up _together. Remus, as I'm sure you may very well remember, they had certain…differences towards each other at this age. They might not take it very kindly at all if they were to find out how their relationship changes."_

For the first time that evening, Remus's face split into a wide grin. '_Differences?' That was putting it very mildly indeed. _

Dumbledore, too, was amused by his own understatement. "Well, I believe that is all for now. And remember, Harry, keep this a secret from the other students, _including Ron and Hermione. I know how hard that might be for you, but I must stress the importance of this."_

Harry understood. He departed from the room, followed by Remus. 

"Harry!" Professor Lupin called after him just as they came out of the gargoyle and the statue slid back into place again. "Are you sure you're okay with all of this?"

"Of course I'm not okay! None of us are! But if you mean considering the circumstances, then yes, I'm doing just fine. Actually, I'm starting to feel excited about the whole thing, now that the shock is beginning to wear off. I never knew my parents, but now I get a second chance." 

Professor Lupin regarded Harry carefully for a few seconds. "All of us are grateful for the opportunity to be able to have them with us again. But, you know, this isn't a permanent—"

Harry interrupted him. "I know that they're going to have to go back sometime, probably even very soon. But that doesn't mean I won't enjoy every instant that they're here. Live for the moment, you know?" 

"Yeah," Lupin replied softly. "Good night, Harry." He turned and walked in the opposite direction of the Gryffindor common room, leaving Harry standing alone in the deserted corridor.

As he began the journey back to Gryffindor Tower, Harry tried unsuccessfully to wrap his mind around the occurrences of the past few hours. It was all a jumbled mass of confusing thoughts. 

He thought back to when he had first been introduced to "Anne Parker." Immediately, he had known there was something familiar about her, but he hadn't been able to quite place his finger on it. He searched his mind for the many images of his mother and father he had stored in his memory. But now that they were actually here, Harry couldn't form a clear picture of how they had looked in those old photos Hagrid had assembled for him.

Upon stepping inside the common room, his eyes fell on the very two people his thoughts had been concentrated on. They were sitting in two of the many overstuffed armchairs in the room, engaged in a lively conversation. Harry paused in the entranceway, wanting to just watch them for awhile, without the two of them being aware of his presence. 

James…no, his dad…wait, that didn't seem right either. Harry had encountered another problem, albeit a minor one. What should he think about them as? 'Mom' and 'Dad' wouldn't be right, as they seemed to be the same age as he. Besides, he might let it slip out loud, and how did he know other wouldn't overhear?

'James' and 'Lily' were definitely out of the question, considering how awkward he had felt in Dumbledore's office when he had heard his parents—or the two people who would eventually become his parents—being referred to by their first names. Even stranger had been the fact that they were being talked about in the present tense. Again, there was the problem of letting his thoughts drift into reality. 

After some mental debating, he decided on the new names Dumbledore had picked out: 'Jon' and 'Anne.' As unusual as it would be at the beginning to think of his would-be parents by completely different names, it would probably be the easiest to adjust to. Because he might not make the immediate connection between the unfamiliar names and the two people he had needed most in his life.

Now that he had gotten that sorted out, his brain returned to its previous train of thought. Jon and Anne were still deep in conversation, interrupted only by Jon slumping onto the arm of his chair in an exaggerated faint. Anne giggled at his antics, apparently not realizing that they were supposed to be enemies. Jon seemed to have forgotten this for the moment as well, as he joked with Anne.

Harry watched both of them wistfully from the doorway, from which he still hadn't budged. How happy they looked—so full of life. 

Even from this distance, he could tell how much Jon lived up to his title of the leader of the Marauders. Jon's eyes had that characteristic sparkle of mischief gleaming in their depths. As Jon grinned at Anne, Harry saw firsthand Jon's famous smile, which both Sirius and Remus had told him made almost all of the girls in school swoon.

Harry chuckled to himself when he discovered with surprise that the Potter Charm obviously didn't work on Anne. She merely glared defiantly back at Jon, finally remembering that the two of them despised each other. They started to argue, with Harry still standing transfixed in the portrait frame, watching them. 

That is, until the Fat Lady grew impatient. "Look, young man. Are you going in or not? You've been standing there goggling for an eternity!" she stated rather louder than necessary.

This caused the two figures in the common room to cease their bantering—for the moment, at least—and turn to him. 

"Sorry," Harry apologized sheepishly, finally stepping inside the room. "I, uh, didn't want to interrupt."

"Of course! Who _would want to knowingly come near the Green-Eyed Monster when she's like this?" Jon made a gesture toward Anne, whose eyes were so narrow that it was impossible to tell what color they were. _

"Don't you ever call me that!" She jabbed a finger into Jon's chest for emphasis.

"Aw, come on. You know you love it! Otherwise, you wouldn't have protested when Dumbledore suggested changing your eye color." 

At this, Harry suddenly remembered that his eyes were still blue. He wondered how Jon would react once his eye color returned to normal. Most likely, Jon would freak out that his son's eyes were identical to his worst enemy's. Harry tried to imagine the look of horror on his face.

"Yes, _Jon, I do love the color of my eyes, but I most certainly do __not appreciate you calling me names because of it!" _

Harry decided it was time for him to leave the two of them to their row. He left the room, but neither of them noticed. Smiling a little at the memory of how involved they had both been, Harry headed up to his dorm. He flopped himself onto his bed and turned over in his mind the recent happenings.

On impulse, he got out of bed and dug a familiar, leather-bound book out of his trunk. It was the photo album Hagrid had kindly put together for him way back in his first year. As Harry sat flipping through the pages, he noticed that almost all of the pictures seemed to have been taken before his parents had attended Hogwarts, during their first and second years, or after his parents had graduated from school. He remembered Remus telling him once that his parents had always run the other way whenever Sirius and his handy camera ever got within sight. 

'Perhaps that's why I didn't recognize them right away.' At least, that was true for his mother. Dumbledore had tried to insure that other students wouldn't see the uncanny resemblance between father and son by straightening Jon's hair. Feeling his own unruly clumps, Harry suddenly felt a twinge of annoyance. The man who he would inherit this unruly mop from now had _normal hair, while he was still stuck with the same unmanageable mass. From what Remus and Sirius had told him, Jon didn't need to have neat, tidy hair. Harry had found out that Jon had been quite the ladies' man._

With a sigh, Harry replaced the precious album in his trunk. He then lay back on his bed and contemplated what Dumbledore had said. None of it had come as a real surprise. He had known that he couldn't actually reveal the future to his parents. Who knew what disaster might come of that? 

He knew that there was a very good chance that Anne wouldn't find out her relation to him. It didn't really matter, as long as he had a second chance to get to know her—a chance that had been stolen from him years ago by one Peter Pettigrew.

Harry continued to ponder about his parents, finally drifting into a peaceful slumber.

*~TBC~*

See? Told ya there wouldn't be a cliffhanger! I'm sorry that this chapter was so boring, though, but I wrote this while trying to overcome my writers' block. It's also one of those transition chapters that no one likes, but are essential to the story. Next part will be better, I promise!

I don't have time right now to thank each individual reviewer, or to answer questions, but I'll add these in later.


	7. Food Fight

I'm so sorry that it's been _months_ since my last update! This part been on reserve for about two months now, waiting to be revised. But I'm a horrible procrastinator and never quite felt up to doing it. I'm still not exactly satisfied with it, but I'm tired of trying to fix it up. I hope you enjoy anyway!

**Chapter 7**

Lily blinked sleepily and looked over at the clock. The glowing digits made her groan. It was way too early to be awake! And for some odd reason, she couldn't seem to go back to sleep. Finally, she gave up and got dressed. As she descended the stairs into the common room, she was surprised to find that it wasn't totally empty. 

The only other inhabitant was a small girl around her own size, with hair exactly the same shade as Ron Weasley's. The girl looked up as Lily approached, and smiled warmly at her.

"Hi. I didn't expect anyone else to be up this early." 

Lily shook her head. "Me neither. Have we met?"

The other girl was instantly contrite. "Oh my gosh! Excuse my manners! You must be one of the foreign exchange students, right? I'm Ginny Weasley." 

Lily grinned in recognition of the last name. "I'm Anne Parker. Pleased to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too. Forgive me for asking, but your accent seems to be distinguishably British, and you're from America?" 

Lily blanched. How come no one had considered this before? She thought fast. "Oh, my parents were originally from England, but we moved to America when I was ten. I guess my accent has stayed with me." She shot a quick glance at Ginny, hoping the girl bought the story, which sounded lame even to her own ears.

Ginny didn't seem to have any suspicions, much to Lily's relief. They conversed a bit more about various topics. Lily was surprised to find this girl so easy to talk to. It was a shame Ginny was a fifth year. Otherwise, they could've shared a dorm and had classes together. 

When Harry came down, he smiled to himself upon finding the two redheads lost in conversation like old friends.

Breakfast that morning was definitely an interesting event. Ron spent almost the entire time gazing at Lily—a fact that didn't go by unnoticed by Harry. 

Harry felt a wave of nausea at the expression on his best friend's face. Anne was his _mother, for Merlin's sake! The very thought, not to mention sight, was sickening._

Hermione and Ginny were chatting away companionably with Lily as if they had known her forever. Lily was pleased that she had found two people who were so friendly. She could already tell that the three of them were to become a close-knit group for as long as she remained in this timeline. For the first time, Lily felt a twinge of sadness at the thought of returning to the past. 

Meanwhile, across the table from Lily, James was attempting to catch Ron's attention yet again. That boy had it bad for little old Carrot. But did he have to make it so public? James gave up and turned to Harry, who was staring intently at Ron's sister, Ginny.

James groaned. It was just his luck that he was sandwiched between the two lover boys. Tired of everyone else being occupied, he absentmindedly launched a piece of egg at Lily. 

Her head immediately snapped in his direction, earning her a lazy grin from that infuriating Potter. She retaliated by scooping up a bit of hash brown with her spoon and flinging it at James's head. He cried out indignantly and shot back some bacon.

Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas joined in at this point. A full-fledged food fight ensued, with food flying everywhere. Soon, the Gryffindors became mindless of where their food was heading, having lost all sense of sides. 

"Hey! Whose team are you on anyway, Harry?" James exclaimed as pumpkin juice splashed down the front of his robes.

At the teacher's table, there was a mixture of different reactions. Lupin was trying unsuccessfully to keep from laughing, while McGonagall pursed her already thin lips. She was about to go over and end this nonsense when Dumbledore placed a restraining hand on her arm. 

"Let them have their fun, Minerva. Merlin knows Lily, James, and Harry all need a bit of a distraction."

Even the strict Professor McGonagall nodded as she sat back down again and enjoyed the sight. 

Tiny Professor Flitwick was standing on top of his chair now, craning his neck for a better view of the action, squeaking excitedly.

One professor, however, kept a sour expression on his face, as he surveyed the scene with disgust. He quickly got up from his chair, and hurried over to the Gryffindor table before Dumbledore could stop him. 

"All right, that's enough! Break it up! And twenty points from Gryffindor for this mess!"

Instantly, the laughing stopped as many pairs of eyes turned to Snape in resentment. There were several snickers from the direction of the Slytherin table 

"But, Professor—" Hermione started to protest.

"Quiet, Miss Granger! I will not take any tongue from you!" Normally, he would have subtracted a few more points, but his gaze was fixed on a certain green-eyed redhead standing next to the bossy know-it-all. "_L—" _

"Now, now, Severus. I'm sure they didn't mean to cause any real harm. There's no need to be so harsh on them. It's nothing that can't be easily cleaned up," assured the soothing voice of the headmaster. With a quick flick of his wand, the splattered wall and floor became spotless again.

Snape forced his stare away from the familiar redhead and gave Dumbledore a small, curt nod. With that, he strode away, scowling. 

"I suggest that you all get back to your dorms and change. Can't go to classes looking like that!" Dumbledore told the relieved Gryffindors cheerfully.

All of them hurried out of the Great Hall except for Hermione, who paused to question worriedly. "Gryffindor won't _really lose twenty points, right?" _

Dumbledore suppressed a smile at the girl's anxiety. "No, Hermione. I will let it go this time, but if I ever see this happen again…" the headmaster trailed off, the amusement twinkling in his eyes.

Hermione, though, seemed to take his statement quite seriously. She nodded quickly and ran after her fellow Gryffindors. 

~*~*~*~

Lily got the last bit of bacon grease out of her hair and stood back, checking her reflection for any other signs of food. 

"You're looking lovely, dear," the mirror complimented, obviously trying to get her to go away. However, Lily didn't trust the mirror and had to take another look for herself. Satisfied, Lily went over to her bed and glanced over her schedule for the day.

"Fridays: Double Potions with the Slytherins, Transfiguration, and Herbology," she read aloud and groaned. 'This is just great. My first day of classes twenty years in the future, and I have to have my two worst subjects. Oh well, there's always Herbology.' 

"Hey, Anne! Hurry up! We have five minutes to get to Potions!" Hermione's frantic voice cut into her thoughts. "And Snape isn't exactly the forgiving kind, as you probably already know from what happened at breakfast."

Lily nodded and rushed out the door right after Hermione. When they reached the Potions dungeon, they were surprised to find that they were among the first Gryffindors to arrive. Everyone else must still be cleaning up. 

Snape turned toward the door to sneer at them, looking forward to giving out so many detentions, but his expression froze on his face when he saw who was in the doorway.

In an attempt to cover up, he glared at Hermione until she took her seat. It was at this moment that James and Harry decided to rush in, out of breath. 

"Why, _Potter!" He smirked at them, although his words were directed more towards James than Harry. "I'll expect to see you in detention this evening! You and your little friend, as well."_

James and Harry both secretly glowered at Snape. James couldn't believe his rotten luck. Just yesterday, he could have shot any insult at Snape as he pleased, but now, he had to obey his worst enemy! In this timeline, Snape was his "superior." Oh, the shame!

*~TBC~*

Another non-cliffie ending! I must be getting better! :) Oooh, whatever will happen in Potions? Review and you'll find out quicker! I _**promise **_that the next part will most likely be up within a week, two at the absolute **_most_**. 

Oh yeah, and I've noticed that a LOT of people have asked about the color of Harry's eyes in the reviews. This just proves that none of you really pay attention to these author's notes, or even some of the details of the actual story. Go back to Chapter 4 and reread the first few paragraphs, when Harry's alone in his dorm. 


	8. Of Potions and Family Squabbles

Hey! I made my deadline of two weeks! Yay! Go me!!! :) 

****

**Chapter 8**

After terrorizing some other latecomers, Snape was ready to begin the lesson. "Today, you will be making a type of healing potion, which will cure most of the common hexes and curses which can be place upon you. However, if this potion is made incorrectly, it could have some very nasty effects." At this, he leered at Neville Longbottom, who was trembling like a leaf.

"Now, turn to page 482 in your textbooks, and if you dim-witted good-for-nothings can figure out these simple instructions, you may attempt to proceed."

Lily partnered up with Hermione, and James with Harry. Unfortunately, this left poor Ron with Neville. 

Half an hour later, most of the class was ready to put in the final ingredients of their potion. 

"Let's see, it says we need a drop of phoenix tears," Hermione told Lily.

"Take great care to put only one drop into the potion, for an excess will produce undesired results," Lily read. "Hmm, I wonder what kind of undesired results?"

"Knowing Snape and the kinds of potions he chooses, something awful," Hermione informed Lily. She glanced about for the glass bottle containing the phoenix tears. She spotted Harry carefully adding a drop to his potion, and then setting the bottle down on the space between him and Neville.

Hermione frowned at the foolishness of this, but before she could get across the room and grab the container, Neville shifted his left elbow—the elbow that was right next to the carelessly placed bottle. Since the stopper was not in the bottle, the clear liquid sloshed out of the top in all directions, landing in both of the nearby cauldrons.

The result was instantaneous. Two loud BANG's, one immediately following the other, resounded in the room. Clouds of smoke fogged up the room, making it impossible to see anything for a few moments. When the haze cleared away, two cauldrons overflowing with green slime were revealed. Those standing near the cauldrons were well distinguishable from others by the numerous hexes and curses covering them.

Malfoy let out a shout of rage as he suddenly sprouted a crown of rose buds. Snape was furious. "YOU FOUR! Two weeks detention and twenty-five points from Gryffindor!"

Everyone in the room was surprised at the leniency of the point deduction. The Slytherins looked about ready to burst while the Gryffindors hardly dared to believe it. The Slytherin fears and the Gryffindor hopes were quickly crushed when Snape added, "_Each."_

"Oh, p-p-p-please, P-P-Professor! It was—" In a rare bout of bravery, Neville tried to take all the blame, but Snape interrupted.

"—all your fault. Don't you think I know that by now? So keep your trap shut!" Snape barked back at the terrified boy, who could barely manage a nod.

James felt like he was going to explode like his potion any minute now. He was just about to give Snape a piece of his mind when Lily beat him to it.

"Hey, Professor? I hardly think that the punishment is exactly fair."

All of the Gryffindors drew in sharp breaths while the Slytherins snickered to themselves, anticipating the chewing out the idiotic girl was going to get. _No one, __especially not a Gryffindor, dared to question Snape's judgements. _

"And why not, Miss…Parker?" Snape turned his attention to her, but for some strange reason, he didn't seem hostile.

"You shouldn't have a whole house pay just because of one blown up potion. And besides, it was an accident." Lily knew she was taking a chance. From all she had heard of Severus from her fellow Gryffindors last night, he hated anyone from that house.

"Oh, yes? So you believe that these ruffians should go unpunished?"

"Well, no. I'm just saying that taking a hundred points from Gryffindor is a bit harsh. But the detentions can stay."

The other students stared at Lily in awe. Was she insane? Did she just tell Snape what to do?

Everyone waited for the inevitable. It never came.

"Is that right? Well, I'm glad that you and your evidently superior knowledge believe that one of my punishments is justified," Snape remarked, sounding a bit a sarcastic.

The Slytherins were relieved. So the Professor had been taunting the new girl all along. Serves the little American right, thinking she can come in here and rule the place!

"Very well, I will pardon the point-deduction," Snape added.

The class was thunderstruck.

They would have been even more so if they had seen Snape lean in closer to the redhead and mutter quietly in a voice only she could hear, "But only for you, Lily."

But fortunately for them, and the state of their hearts, which were already beating like mad, they did not overhear this comment. Even so, it took them almost a full minute to recover.

"But _Professor," whined Draco Malfoy. Several Slytherins followed his example._

"Enough! Those affected by the potion, go to the hospital wing! Class is dismissed for the day. Get out of my sight! Miss Parker, if you would please stay after class."

Everyone was so shocked to hear that class was dismissed early that few of the students realized that Snape had actually asked a Gryffindor _nicely to stay after class._

Talking excitedly amongst themselves, the students scrambled out of the classroom, all too eager to escape the musty Potions dungeon.

"Now then, _Lily," Snape started, once Hermione—the last out of class as usual—shot Lily a sympathetic glance and left the room, "I'm sure you can imagine how much of a shock it was for me last night, seeing James Potter back __here."_

"I'm sure I can, Severus," Lily replied, grinning upon thinking about the intense hatred between the two boys—a hatred that rivaled even the one she shared with James. "And I assure you that Potter felt the same way when he saw your name printed on his schedule."

Severus smiled at her, pleased that as of now, she was still calling her future husband "Potter." They conversed for a while more, catching up. They also did quite a bit of planning various pranks on James and Harry, before Lily realized with a start that she was ten minutes late for Transfiguration. Severus kindly gave her a note, and she hurried away, with his eyes trailing after her, thinking of how much he had lost to that scoundrel, Potter.

~*~*~*~

Lily awoke the next morning, feeling amazingly refreshed. A quick glance at the clock told her that breakfast was halfway over. She couldn't care less, as she wasn't exactly hungry.

Suddenly, she bolted out of bed and ran to the mirror.

"You know, dearie, that hair-do really doesn't suit you," the mirror said to her kindly.

So that was why her hair didn't fall in her face today. Immediately, she knew the cause of this outrage, and she remembered that he hardly ever got up before ten o'clock on weekends.

She stormed into the boys' dorms, out for blood. "POTTER!" she screeched, not caring who heard. Luckily for her, only James and Harry were in the room, both of whom were still asleep. At least, they had been before Lily had charged in and screamed at them. Both of them awoke with a start.

"Huh? What?" James tried to rub the sleep from his eyes and sat up, looking around groggily.

"You know perfectly well what!" Lily shrieked, stomping over to his bed and yanking back the curtains.

James felt a wide grin split across his face as he remembered the prank he had played on her the night before. 

Lily's hair was standing straight up on her head in a stiff column. Only the very ends, which had been dyed green, spilled out over the top. She wore an expression of murderous rage on her face.

He gave a loud snort and burst out laughing. Her facial expression didn't worry him in the least. In fact, it only added to his already immense amusement. "Why, I didn't know you liked your name so much, _Carrot," he teased her._

By now, Lily's face was as red as her hair. "Why, you little…" she trailed off, shaking with fury.

"Little what?" James taunted.

Lily's normally large green eyes had become mere slits on her face. She opened her mouth to give James a piece of her mind, but noticed Harry in the room for the first time.

"YOU!" she shouted, turning her attention to Harry instead. "I'll bet you were in on this, too! I should've known! Like father, like son! You're a disgusting piece of filth, just like him! Putting on a sugary, _modest act for everybody else! Yeah, right! Potters don't have a shred of modesty in their whole family line! You're all just bigheaded showoffs! The whole lot of you!" Lily gasped for breath at the end of this, surprised that yelling could take so much energy._

She was about to continue when James beat her to it.

He was beginning to grow angry now. It was fine when she was insulting him, but to turn on his son, as well! And _no one talked about the family name like that. "Look, Evans! You got a bone to pick with me? Fine! But leave Harry out of it! He had nothing to do with this!"_

James rose from the bed to stand before Lily "And don't you _ever talk about the Potters like that," he threatened, drawing himself up to his full height, which was a good few inches taller than Lily._

"Oh yeah? I can talk about whomever I want, _however I want. And don't think I'll just let this little incident go, Potter. Because I won't! I'll get you back! Both you and that…that __wretched son of yours!" With that, Lily shoved James back onto the bed and stormed out of the room, pausing in the doorway to shoot a murderous look at Harry._

James let out the breath he had been holding. "She doesn't know who she's dealing with," he growled, glaring at the doorway where Lily's figure had been only seconds before. "Right, Harry?"

When Harry remained silent, James shot a look his way. "Harry?" he asked, concerned.

Harry didn't answer. His mother's words rang in his ears.

"_You're a disgusting piece of filth!" And she had called him a "wretched son." Without so much as a word or glance to Jon, Harry bolted from the room. He ran down the stairs and through the common room, turning many curious stares his way, but Harry didn't care. All that mattered was getting out of there._

Once he was safely in the deserted hallway, Harry allowed the tears to overflow. He pictured the fury on her face—fury directed towards _him. _

The sobs wracked his body, leaving him lying on the floor as helpless as a rag doll. And that was how Professor Lupin found him a short while later.

Harry's last coherent thoughts before his mind became a jumble of turmoil were of the hatred contained in his mother's voice. Yes, he realized this by now. His own mother _hated him. He had envisioned meeting his mother in all sorts of unlikely situations. But never, in all of his wildest dreams, had he even imagined his mother to sound so much like Aunt Petunia._

*~TBC~***__**


	9. An Unpleasant Surprise

Chapter 9  
  
After performing several charms to get her hair back to normal, Lily headed down to lunch. Because it was still early, there were few people in the Great Hall. Unfortunately, two Potters were among them. Lily shot death glares at both James and Harry before taking a seat at the other end of the Gryffindor table.  
  
James merely grinned and glanced over at Harry, who was feeling much better after having that talk with Professor Lupin. His teacher had caused him to see the humor and irony in the situation with Anne. He realized how silly he had been to overreact like that. Harry had heard that his mother could have quite a temper, partially owing to the fact that she was a redhead.  
  
Harry spent the next few minutes listening to Jon express his satisfaction at Anne's reaction. Harry could only shake his head and roll his eyes.  
  
Shortly, the rest of the school began to filter into the Great Hall. Lily lost no time in venting about the prank to Ginny and Hermione, who were slightly confused as to why Jon was teasing a girl he'd barely known for a week. The only explanation they could come up with was that Jon had a "thing" for Anne. This promptly earned them both a glare.  
  
"Hey, Anne? I think you still have a little green on your hair," Ginny informed her, pointing to the offending streak.  
  
Lily twisted around to try to get a better look, but to no avail. Finally, she gave up and resumed eating, vowing to get the two Potters back.  
  
~*~*~  
  
At dinner that night, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron watched with interest as Lily practically shoveled food into her mouth.  
  
"What's the hurry, Anne?" Ron asked.  
  
"Oh, I just have to be somewhere," Lily answered. "Okay, I'm finished. Bye, everyone!" She hurried out of the Great Hall, leaving three puzzled faces behind her.  
  
Lily dashed to Gryffindor Tower, and scrambled inside the portrait, ignoring the Fat Lady's "What the matter, dear?" She sprinted up the stairs to the boys' dorm and pushed open the door that said Sixth Years.  
  
Her eyes roamed around the room and landed on a trunk that said, "Harry Potter."  
  
"Bingo," she muttered under her breath, kneeling down in front of the trunk.  
  
"Alohomora!"  
  
The lock snapped opened, and Lily smiled in satisfaction. This was almost too easy.  
  
"Now let's see what perfect little Harry has stashed away."  
  
She lifted the heavy lid with a grunt, and her eyes were not disappointed. The inside was filled with an assortment of prank items. She passed over the usual stuff, and her eyes rested on a silvery piece of cloth. Lifting it out, she gasped when her hand disappeared.  
  
"An Invisibility Cloak," she whispered in awe. "Now this could definitely come in handy."  
  
She laid it aside and resumed her search. She pulled out what looked like a very old sheet of wrinkled parchment. Okay, so Harry was a bit insane and kept junk lying around. What else did she expect? He was James Potter's son, after all.  
  
Lily dug further into the trunk, and her hand hit something hard. She tugged it out a thin, leather-bound black book. She chuckled to herself. "Who would've thought that Harry Potter is one to keep a journal?"  
  
She smiled in anticipation as she opened it to the first page. What she saw made her drop the book like a lump of hot coals, and all notions of a prank flew from her mind.  
  
Her eyes must be playing some sort of cruel trick on her. Picking up the book again, she took another look. Sure enough, the same image greeted her. Lily flipped to the next page, and the nightmare still didn't go away. She was growing more frantic by the second.  
  
For, page after page, she saw herself and James Potter, with their arms wrapped around each other, smiling and waving. And between them, a baby.  
  
*~TBC~* 


	10. Snape and Detention

**Chapter 10**

The sound of voices in the Common Room brought Lily back to her senses. She quickly shoved the contents of Harry's trunk back roughly into their previous positions, and snuck out of the room. 

She composed herself as much as she could and went down to the Common Room to finish her homework. 

When she saw just who was in the room with her, she groaned. Just her luck that James, Harry, and Ron made it back early from dinner. 

She made a point to ignore the Potters, and gave a small wave to Ron. For some strange reason, he blushed and shyly waved back. However, Lily was too caught up in her jumbled thoughts to think too much about it. 

Lily settled into a nearby armchair and forced herself to concentrate on the essay assignment before her. Her efforts proved to be in vain when, ten minutes later, the parchment in front of her was still completely blank. She finally gave up and decided to wander around the corridors a bit, hopefully to make her mind clear up. 

Not really paying attention to where she was going, Lily was surprised to find herself in the dungeons. She was about to turn around when she spotted a door at the end of the hallway marked "Severus Snape." 

While knowing it wasn't exactly the best idea to talk to Severus about James, or any one in the Potter family for that matter, Lily knocked on the door anyway. 

"Come in," a voice from the other side growled. Lily pushed the door open and was greeted by the Potions Master fiercely scowling at a pile of papers. She winced as he scratched a large, red F and threw the paper aside in disgust. 

She cleared her throat, causing Severus to finally look up. His expression instantly softened. 

"Lily! I'm sorry; you'll have to excuse the mess. Come on in and have a seat!" He gestured to a threadbare chair in front of his desk and Lily obeyed. 

"So, what brings you here tonight? I hope the Potters haven't been giving you trouble?" 

"Well…" she trailed off, thinking back to that morning's incident, "not exactly. At least, nothing out of the ordinary." 

Severus nodded, waiting for her to continue. 

"You see, the thing is…" Lily changed her mind in mid-sentence, deciding not to tell him after all. At least, not yet. "I just wanted to talk to someone who understands me." 

Severus smiled bitterly to himself as a memory from seventh year flashed in his mind. 

_"Severus, I'm not saying that I don't want to be friends anymore. Just because I have James now doesn't mean that we can't still hang out." _

_"Oh, but Lily, it won't be the same and you know it. Potter and I hate each other! Neither of us is going to stand for you being friends, or more than friends in James's case, with the other. You're going to have to pick eventually. And who do you think it's going to be? The perfect James Potter from Gryffindor or the slimy good-for-nothing from Slytherin?" _

_At that point, Lily's eyes had filled up with tears. "I'm sorry that it's come down to this, but if that's the way you feel, then fine. It's clear that, after six years of friendship, you don't understand me at all. Good-bye, Severus."_

"Severus? Are you okay?" 

He snapped back to the present. "Yeah, fine. Why wouldn't I be?" 

Lily didn't look convinced. "Maybe I should come back later." 

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. You said you wanted to talk." 

"Well, okay, then." Lily proceeded to relate her turmoil of emotions about the events of the past week. Severus listened with a sympathetic ear, and felt more than a twinge of the old heartache when Lily had picked Potter over him. He wished that he could keep her in this timeline forever and save her from the inevitable. 

~*~*~ 

Two hours later, Lily felt much better and was just saying good-bye to Severus when the door to his office swung open, and four glum-faced boys trouped in. 

"Ah! Right on time tonight, for once! I want the floor and ceiling of the classroom scrubbed without magic. When I come in to inspect it, for every speck of dirt I see, you'll get another hour added on to your nightly detentions. Oh, and Anne, I hate to ask this of you, but would you please supervise these troublemakers until I get back from my meeting with the Headmaster? I shouldn't be too long." 

Lily inwardly groaned, but consented, all the while dreading the fact that she was going to have to be in the same room with the two Potters. And she had almost forgotten about the photo album, too. 

James clenched his fists at the thought of Lily having the power to order him around. He stomped into the dungeon classroom and grabbed the waiting mop and bucket. 

"Professor Snape?" Neville meekly piped up as he was going in. 

"What do you want?" Snape glared at him. 

"Um…uh...how-how are we going to r-r-reach the ceiling?" 

"There's a ladder in there, you dim-wit." With that, Snape stormed away. 

Neville stood rooted to the spot, shaking with fright, until Lily walked over and practically dragged him into the classroom. 

"So, Anne, what were you doing in Snape's office, anyway? Don't tell me you're in trouble!" 

"That's none of your business, Whitman!" Lily snapped back, definitely not in the mood to talk to him, of all people. 

"Sheesh, _sorry_! I was just asking!" James began to mop the floor feverishly. 

Lily glowered at him, determined to push the image of them in each other's arms out of her mind. She was just beginning to think that she had succeeded, when Harry had to speak up. 

"Hey, Anne? Why'd you leave the Great Hall in such a hurry after dinner?" 

"I had something to do," she mumbled, remembering all too well what she had intended to accomplish before the others arrived and the reason she didn't have a good prank to pull. 

Harry attempted to make conversation, but everyone except for Ron just ignored him. And even Ron just answered his questions with the simplest, one-word replies possible. Finally, Harry gave up and resigned himself to scrubbing the floor in silence. 

Just when the four boys were getting started on the ceiling, Snape returned from his meeting. Lily breathed a sigh of relief and hurried away, eager to be some distance away from those Potters. 

The Common Room was far from deserted when Lily arrived. She was grateful, for she wouldn't be able to think too much about her unfortunate discovery. She curled up in an armchair and resumed her essay, this time with more success. She had almost two feet finished by the time James and Harry got back from their detention, and was distracted yet again. 

*~TBC~* 

Slinkimalinki LURVES Gollum FOREVER!!!! 

Lookie! Lookie!! No cliffie!!! Ok, that I have officially made a fool out of myself by sounding like a two-year-old...:) See? I can do without a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter! It just doesn't happen very often and when it does, it's always at the end of the chapters where nothing exciting happens. Oh well, that's the tradeoff. 

Anyway, it's Spring Break!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whoo-hoo!!!!! I just got home about half an hour ago and celebrated before posting this. Guess what? I'm going to start the thank you section again for the reviewers! Look for your name! :) 

**~Thank You's~**

Taracollowen, J. Lynn, Kay, A Tye, Anakah, HPMystery, Quack Quack 88, AmiAmiNSusu, the Bumbling Firefly, Jenny, alexpotter, Joycelene, Lil Lily, tsuki tatsu, Lady Foxfire, Hermionegmalfoy, katie, Riley, Xaviera Xylira, berina, katie, Tidmag and Gen Raid, Shan Rohan, Gia, Whitelili, A-man, LexiGurl, Jessica- Canada, Pamela, Midnite Jewel, FairySpirite, Princess Kattera, Orange, Princess39391112, Tikkity, Ivy, Maab, Trista, Geneviève, groovyjo, Hanna Weasley, ChildLikeTendencies, ~*Crystal Lily*~, kiriko Himura, Felicity Aulia Evans, Slinkimalinki, Rose-Star988, thistlemeg, Lono, QueenieNRCatFan, maya papaya, Ronniekin's Sweetheart, Pink, Twistie, jos8, LilyEvans, vmr, Em, queenoftheworld, Mademoiselle Gabrielle, Miki, Jen 

**~Questions, Answers, and Comments~**

Joycelene: Well, this chapter was a lot longer than the last one. Was it long enough? 

Lady FoxFire: Who will she tell the secret to first? Well...big hint--it won't be Dumbledore, because what fun would that be? Most likely, he would simply erase her memory. 

Katie: Kissy kissy? Nope! Not yet, anyway. 

Xaviera Xylira: I got this chapter out pretty soon, didn't I? And I've stayed up past midnight reading stories before, too. 

Tidmag and Gen Raid: LOL!!! Your review had me cracking up! I'm an artist? Wow... "Did you hear that everybody? Someone just said I'm an artist!!!!" *Isabel beams with pride while everyone else is looking around for the idiot who was just shouting* 

A-man: Yes, she did indeed find out. hehehe 

Jessica- Canada: Well, let me just say this--Dumbledore won't be erasing Lily's memory any time soon, so who knows what she could do? 

FairySpirite: Great plots? Why, thank you! 

Orange: Overreact? Hmm...I don't know if she can overreact. After all, she just found out that she's going to have a baby with her worst enemy! 

Ivy: I'm glad you liked my idea of getting Lily to find out. I wasn't really sure about it myself, and was hoping it wasn't too cliché or anything. 

Trista: Nah, your review wasn't as weird as some other people's have been. So sorry to disappoint you. *grin* 

Groovyjo: Evil thoughts? OH NO!!! It's here!! See????? It's right here! Don't hurt meeeeee!! 

~*Crystal Lily*~: You don't like Lily anymore? *sniff* I'm sorry my fic has turned you against her! I mean, against her just in my story, of course. 

Felicity Aulia Evans: (in small, teensy-weensy voice) Um, it's two days after tomorrow. *runs for safety* B-b-b-b-but I still got it out, didn't I?? Forgive m--eeeeeek!!! *ducks a piece of rotten fruit* 

Slinkimalinki: Well, I already thanked you by writing you that long email, but you definitely deserve to be in this section for that two and a half page long review! :) Btw, see the first sentence after the story? Look familiar? Told you it would go first! hehehe 

Maya papaya: Yeah, you don't see much of those anymore. Now, it's all clichés, clichés, and more clichés. Oh, and did I mention cliché? 

Pink: Don't cry! Falling in love with my story is supposed to be a good thing! A happy thing! 

The Bumbling Firefly: Tell James? Hmm...I don't know...is she? *cackles evilly* Have a heart attack? Oh, but of course. 

LilyEvans: What's Lily going to do? Well, first, she's going to have to freak out some more, of course. But, after that...um...I can't say. :) 

Em: I held up my end of the deal and emailed you! But, then again, if you're reading this, you probably know that. Anyway, where's my long review? I'll be looking for it! 

Queenoftheworld: You're definitely not the first person who has asked if she's going to tell James or not. And like everyone else, you're getting the same answer--maybe...maybe not. 

Jen: I almost left you out of my thank you's! I was just about to post this part when I saw I had a new review! Thanks! Aren't you lucky? You just read Chapter 9 and here's Chapter 10 already! You're a lot more fortunate than those poor people who I made wait almost two weeks! :) 


	11. Enemies Become FriendsOr Not

**Chapter 11**

"Anne!"

Lily didn't respond to her "name" being called, and walked on.

"Anne!  Wait up!" the voice yelled again.

She realized with a start that the person was calling her.  She turned around, and instantly regretted it, for who but James Potter was running in her direction.

She resisted the urge to run, impatiently waiting for Potter to catch up instead.

"What do you want, Jon?" she asked sourly.

"I wanted to apologize for what I did to your hair a few days ago."

Lily could only stare at him in amazement.  Never, in six years of pranks, had Potter apologized for, well, anything having to do with her. She immediately grew suspicious.  "Why?"

"What, can't a guy be sorry?" he inquired nonchalantly.

"Not when it involves you and me," she snapped back, not buying his act for a second.

He sighed resignedly.  "Okay, you're right.  Actually, it was Harry who wanted me to apologize for pulling the prank and getting you all riled up."

"_Harry?_"  Lily involuntarily flinched at the name, remembering what had transpired a few days past.  Her mind flew to some of the reasons Harry could have for doing this, but none of them made sense.  At least, none that she wanted to dwell on.  He couldn't possibly _know_…could he?  Nah, no way.  She was just being paranoid.

"Yeah, my son has his weird little quirks.  Oh well, like they say, nobody's per—" James broke off abruptly when he noticed that Lily wasn't paying him the least bit of attention whatsoever.  "Uh, hello?  Earth to Anne!"  James waved a hand in front of her face.  Here she goes again.  Lily seemed to be spacing out an awful lot lately.  He wondered what the matter was.

"Huh?  Oh, okay.  Whatever.  Apology accepted, I guess," Lily replied, just to get him to leave her alone.  She started to walk away, but James wasn't letting her off that easily.

"Really?"  James asked, amazed that she didn't question him about his motives further.

"Sure.  Now get out of my face," she snarled, desperately trying to shake him off.

"Oh, but we have class together now.  I might as well walk you there, since I'm supposed to be on friendlier terms with you."

"Don't tell me Harry told you to do that too."

"Yup."

Lily groaned.  It was going to be a long day.

~*~*~

Saturday morning found one Lily Evans still in bed, catching up on some much-needed sleep after the exhausting events of last week.  That is, until she was rudely shaken awake by none other than Hermione Granger.

"Anne!  Wake up!"

"What?" she mumbled groggily, more than slightly annoyed at her new bushy-haired friend.

"Look outside!"

Lily sleepily turned her head in the general direction of the window.  "Hm, that's nice.  The window looks the same as it always does.  Now let me go back to sleep!  I was having the best dream…"

Lily fell back onto her bed again, but she was pulled back up by the ever persistent Hermione.

"Not the window!  Look _through_ the window!"

Lily sighed in exasperation.  She was definitely not a morning person.  Purely for the sake of pleasing Hermione so she would be left alone, Lily obliged.

What she saw immediately made her wide awake.  "It's snowing!" she cried, jumping out of bed and running to the window for a better look.

Hermione tried to keep the smug look off her face, but failed miserably.

"Come on!  Let's hurry up so we can go outside!" Lily cried excitedly.  She just loved snow!

Hermione chose not to point out that she was already fully dressed.

Lily threw on some robes and all but dragged Hermione downstairs, where most of the students were getting ready to head to breakfast.  They followed suit.

They located Ginny at one end of the Gryffindor table, deep in conversation with Harry.  Seeing this, Lily quickly persuaded Hermione to sit at the other end.  Hermione merely gave her a curious look but didn't question her.

Their breakfast would have been quite pleasant had James not foolishly decided to have some fun and sit next to them.

"Good morning!" he greeted them with a cheerful grin on his face.

Hermione answered cordially enough, but Lily sent a frown in his direction.

"What do you want, Whitman?"  Lily continued to scowl at him.

"Why, I thought we agreed to be nicer to each other," he replied with an all-too-innocent look.

"_We_ did not agree to anything.  It was more like _you_, or actually, _Harry,_ who decided for the both of us."

"Okay, fine, so you're right.  But can you please be nicer to me anyway?" James tried on his best puppy face, which made Lily burst out laughing.  He pretended to be hurt, and this made her crack up even more.  He gave up and waited patiently for her to calm down.

When she finally did, it was to say, "Sure, I'll be nicer to you.  Just so you can catch me unawares with your next prank, right?"

James looked mortally offended.  "Why, Anne!  I am surprised at you!  We Po-er, _Whit_mans are men of their word!  I would never go back on a promise!"

Lily snorted.  "Yeah right.  Besides, when did we ever say it was a promise?"

"Fine."  He proceeded to get down on one knee and take her hand in his, choosing to ignore all the curious stares, including some of the teachers', turned their way.  "I promise from the very bottom of my heart that I will cease playing pranks on you, Lillian Parker."

Lily choked back another fit of giggles.  This was too funny!

James merely grinned at her amusement.  "There, now I've promised and you don't have any more excuses."

She shook her head at his persistence and couldn't help but smile.  Who would've thought that James Potter, of all people, would be kneeling in front of her, holding her hand and practically begging her with that blasted, adorable expression on his face?  Suddenly, Lily realized exactly what she was thinking and noticed her hand was still enveloped in James's.  She jerked it back as if it were on fire.  She quickly wiped the contaminated thing on her robes, reminding herself to give it a good wash later.

How could she have almost forgotten?  Forgotten that, according to those scandalous pictures she had discovered, James Potter would be kneeling in front of her on another occasion as well?

"Anne?  What's the matter?"  James's concerned voice drifted into her thoughts.

"N-nothing.  What makes you ask that?" Lily inquired nervously.

"The way you yanked your hand away just now, for one thing," James replied gently.  Normally, he would have teased her about the expression on her face a few moments past, but even his dense mind realized that now was not the best time.  

"Well, for your information, people tend to be repulsed when they come in contact with something disgusting!" she snapped.  "Now if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do!"  And with that, Lily stormed out of the Great Hall, leaving many dumbfounded stares trailing after her.

James was shocked at her extreme touchiness.  What was going on?  He was surprised to feel an unfamiliar squeezing sensation in the general vicinity of where his heart was when he fully processed the implication of Lily's words.

He started to go after her, but Hermione placed a restraining hand on his arm.

"I highly doubt that's the best idea right now.  I think she just needs to be alone for awhile."

James sighed and reluctantly nodded.  He sat back down, but resolved to get to the bottom of this.

Harry had been watching all of this with horrified eyes from the other end of the table.  When he saw Anne flee from the Hall, sprang up as well.  Unlike Jon, he was successful in pursuing Lily, and followed her back to Gryffindor Tower, until he came face to face with the closed door of the sixth year girls' dormitory.

He rapped on it twice, and received a muffled "Go away!" from within.  He tried the doorknob and was surprised to find the door was unlocked.  Harry pushed it open and saw Lily curled up on what he presumed to be her bed, rocking herself back and forth.

She glanced up when she heard the door swing open to frown at the person who had so disregarded her request, and immediately buried her head in her pillow when she saw Harry.  _Could_ this day get any worse?

"Anne?" Harry whispered cautiously, peering into the room.

"You're not supposed to be in here," was the muffled reply from inside the pillow.

"Anne, I just wanted to—"

"Just leave me alone."

"Anne, please, I—"

"Argh!"  Lily sprang up suddenly, fury cleared written across her face.  "Do you not get the concept?  When I say go away, you supposed to _go_!  But no…oh no.  Not _you_.  Not perfect little, goody-two-shoes Harry Potter!  You just _had_ to play the saint, didn't you, to try to get me and Jon to stop fighting?  You couldn't just leave well enough alone, could you?  No, you just _had to mess with things, just like him!"_

Harry could feel his eyes start to sting.  It was the second time this week that Anne had yelled at him.  He tried to tell himself that she was just angry.  After all, redheads _do_ tend to have quite fearsome tempers.

"Look, Anne, I'm sorry.  If there's anything I can do…"

"Anything _you_ can do?  Of course there's nothing _you_ can do!  You Potters are all alike!  You're all meddlesome little stuck-up brats who don't know when to stop interfering in other people's lives!  You know what would solve all of my problems?  If he was never born!  In fact, I wish that _you_ were never born!"

With that, Lily stomped over to the door and slammed it in Harry's face.

A few moments later, another sound of a door slamming shut could be heard from the direction of the boys' dorms.

Not a whisper could be heard from the large crowd gathered below in the Common Room.

~*~*~

Harry flung himself facedown onto his bed before finally letting the tears stream down his face.  Anne's words still vibrated in his ears, playing themselves over and over again.

Anyone else might be fuming, or find it hilarious that their own mother was saying that, but Harry was neither.  Why?  Because he knew she was right.

If he'd never been born, that would have solved all of her problems.  And she'd still be alive today.  Both of them would be.

~*~*~

That night, Lily headed down to the Common Room to attempt to do some homework.  She made it halfway down the stairs when she saw who was already there.

Lily turned right back around and was about to bolt back up the stairs, but couldn't resist another look at father and son.  Her future husband and the son that had come out of that marriage.

Her gaze locked with Harry's, and he stared back at her with an expression in his eyes that mirrored her own.  The resemblance was so uncanny that Lily shivered.  But there was something wrong.  Something….

She took another look at Harry, and gasped.  Her things fell with a crash to the floor, but Lily didn't even notice.

She realized what was so terribly wrong now.

What was that expression James had often used again?  Ah, yes.  She remembered now.

His eyes were as green as a fresh pickled toad.

*~TBC~*

This chapter is dedicated to WM for giving me the idea about Lily yelling that she wished Harry were never born.  Thank you so much, WM!

Okay, and we're back to cliffies!  At least I didn't take two weeks to update!  In fact, I believe it was only four days!  Wow…that has to be some kind of record for me!  And this is my longest chapter yet!  A full five pages in Microsoft Word!  All right, I know some of you out there are probably scoffing at that, but it's long for _me_, okay?  :)

I don't know where that bit about James getting down on one knee in front of Lily came from, or even the whole Harry wanting James to be nice to Lily thing.  I guess I couldn't think of anything better to have between new plot twists, so I just started typing and that was the result.  Oh well, at least it served as a transition into Lily yelling at Harry again.  

Anyway, I was originally going to wait for a few more chapters until I had Harry's eyes change back to normal, but I thought the story was starting to lag a little, and needed some excitement, so here it is!  

Please review!  Not that you need me to say that, right?  Because I know not a single person reading this right now (if you haven't died of boredom yet) would leave without clicking on that lovely button down below.  It only takes a few seconds!

Constructive criticism is great!  It helps me notice my mistakes and lets me to improve the story in the future!  Please feel free to give me any!

Also, I am perfectly open to any suggestions you guys may have.  This is your story, too, for being so supportive!

And now, on to the wonderful reviewers of the last chapter!

**~Thank You~**

Miki, Em, vicsamky, rootbeerfloat, J. Lynn, Ronniekin's Sweetheart, Quack Quack 88, selena, thistlemeg, SAKURAnTOKYO, ChildLikeTendencies, Jenny, WM, Crystal Lily, Rose-Star988, Gia, AmiAmiNSuSu, Maab, Nicky, Time Twins, Jen, Lily007, alia, Ivy, FairySpirite, Orange, A-man, iluvoliverwood, stardust, meg, Taracollowen, lilz, Kat097, tsuki tatsu

Em:  Thanks for the LONG review!  I emailed you again, so I'll be expecting another one!  And I definitely agree with you on the quotation marks thing.  It annoys me to no end when authors string the different conversations and such into one huge paragraph that I can't make ANY sense out of!  Don't worry, your review didn't come out harsh at all!  I know how some authors say they want c/c, but when they actually get it, they mistake it for a flame or something, but I'm not one of those people!  Yes, Lily is in denial and she's putting the blame on Harry.  I don't know, does that sound like a plausible explanation?  Anyway, I have to cut this short now or it'll end up being a page long!  I'm sure that I'll have an equally long reply to your review next chapter!  :) 

Vicsamky:  Okay, I'll update my address book!  So that's why my email got returned last time.  And about Lily finding the pictures, she's not really doing much about it now, b/c she's in denial and stuff, but a lot more will be happening in the next few chapters!  Especially since she's seen Harry's real eye color!

J. Lynn:  Heehee…yeah, I'd like to shake Lily, too!

Ronniekin's Sweetheart:  Hmm…what makes you think that they'll get together at all?  *cackles evilly*

Quack Quack 88:  I'm not sure I quite get what you mean by Harry intervening.  Could you explain it to me in your next review?  Thanks!

Selena:  I forgot you?  I'm sorry!!!  :(  But I double checked—triple checked, actually—for your name, but I couldn't find it.  Are you sure you reviewed Chapter 9?

Thistlemeg:  You're not going to be understanding of poor Snapie?  Awww… :)

Jenny:  Again, I would like to tell you just how flattered I am!

WM:  Well, well, what can I say?  You got this chapter dedicated to you (the first dedication of the story, btw), and I can't really express my gratitude any better than that.  Sorry that the incident didn't go exactly how you wanted, but since I have most of this story already mapped out, it fit into the plot better this way.  I hoped you liked it anyway.  But I'll definitely put in the scolding and stuff next chapter!  Thanks again!

Crystal Lily:  Yay!  You like Lily again!

Rose-Star988:  Lily in Slytherin?  Um...no, I don't think so.  Does it say that somewhere in the story?  If it does, then I'm terribly sorry!  Lily's definitely a Gryffindor!  :)

Maab:  Yes, Lily will be confronting Harry…soon, hopefully, unless I get going off on another tangent like I did with this chapter.  Hm, I guess we'll both have to wait and find out!

Jen:  Huh?  You're a star?  Um, congrats?  Lol

Lily007:  You and Jen are the same person?  So that means you reviewed my story twice for one chapter?  Thanks!

Ivy:  I'm glad you think that Lily being friends with Snape fits into my story.  I wasn't sure that it would.

FairySpirite:  BUBBIE?  Was that mean?  Or maybe I'm just dense… Yeah, that has to be it…

Iluvoliverwood:  Deep down, Lily DOES believe that the photos are real, which is why she's so much in denial.  Did that make any sense whatsoever?  Knowing me, probably not…

Meg:  Yes, Lily will ask Harry.  Eventually, that is.  :)

Kat097:  Yipers!  (Yipers?  Where did I learn to talk like that?  Well, I guess that explains a lot about me.)

Tsuki tatsu:  I don't know if Lily will tell James or not…  Seriously, I don't!  It's not another one of those things where I go "maybe, maybe not."  I really mean it this time!  As to why everyone is dissin' Harry, do you mean in the story or by the reviewers?

Whew!  Now that certainly took a while!  Thanking the reviewers takes almost as long as writing the actual part!  Okay, well, now that I'm thoroughly exhausted…. *takes a few deep breaths*


	12. The Understanding

Chapter 12 

****

Lily could feel her knees grow weak and almost give way under her, but she gripped the banister firmly for support, determined not to keel over.  Her whole body was trembling as she stared into the emerald-colored eyes.  An involuntary shudder coursed through her and she felt her death grip on the railing slipping.

Up until now, it had been relatively easy to stay in denial.  She hadn't been able to see any obvious resemblance to her in Harry.  But now…those eyes.  It was like looking into a mirror and seeing her own reflection gazing back at her, the same confusion and questions in the green orbs.  

But there was also something else.  Something that was almost akin to…pain?  Except, why would the almighty Harry Potter, be in pain?  A strange feeling crept over her.  If she didn't know any better, she would have mistaken it for guilt.  But that was ridiculous.  What did she have to feel guilty about?  It wasn't like she had done anything wrong.

Lily snapped out of her reverie, silently chiding herself for spacing out like that.  What must people think?  She must have been standing there for a good five minutes, with her mouth gaping open like a fish out of water and her things scattered all around her on the floor.

A quiet blush made its way across her cheeks as she stooped to pick up her abandoned belongings.  Surprisingly, when she finally straightened, not many people were staring.  In fact, the only one who appeared to notice anything was Harry.  He had seemingly ceased to pay attention to her, but would glance her way with an unreadable expression on his face every once in a while.

She shook her head to clear out the confusing thoughts and decided that the Common Room wasn't the best place to study, after all.  Gathering her stuff about her, she spun back around and hurried towards the girls' dormitories, not seeing the two identical heads of messy black hair turned her way.

~*~*~

James glanced up impatiently from concentrating on the chess game when Harry had failed to make a move…again.  He was about to ask Harry what the holdup was when he caught sight of Harry's face.  It was one huge jumbled mass of emotion, and he kept turning his head towards the direction of the staircase for some odd reason.

James' eyes darted to the place Harry couldn't seem to stop looking at, and was just in time to spot a crown of fiery red hair disappear through the sixth year girls' rooms.  He frowned in puzzlement.  Hadn't Evans been coming down a few minutes ago?

He looked at his son again.  And why was Harry staring after her like that?  His facial expression was seriously starting to freak James out.

James cleared his throat.  Harry's head snapped back towards James, and that's when he got a good look at Harry's eyes.  He inhaled sharply.  Sure, there was the same turmoil there as on the rest of his face, if not more, but that wasn't what caught James off his guard.  What had James so shocked was that he suddenly found himself staring straight into a pair of all-too-familiar emerald green eyes.

~*~*~

The first day of Christmas Break found one Lily Evans in a terrible mood.  Hermione and Ginny had both gone home for the holidays.  In fact, almost everyone had gone home, and that meant Lily was going to be stuck with James for a whole two weeks!

Lily yanked open the curtains and swung her legs over the side of her bed.  She practically stomped over to the bureau and got dressed as slowly as possible, so as to delay the moment where she would have to see James.

However, one can only tarry for so long under the pretense of getting dressed, fixing one's hair, and other such early morning tasks.  Besides, there was an empty stomach to think of, one which picked this exact moment to announce its presently famished state.

Lily sighed and decided it was definitely time to go down to breakfast, never mind what surprises were sure to be awaiting her.  No sooner had she thought of this than she opened the door to her dormitory, and was greeted by an early Christmas present in the form of a dung bomb strategically thrown from the expert hands of one James Potter.

Just like that, the near hour she had spent "primping" turned out to be all for naught.  And since there was no one else in the common room who could possibly overhear her, Lily didn't hold anything back when screaming at the top of her lungs, "JAMES POTTER, YOU ARE ONE DEAD MAN!"

And, thus, a merry game of tag ensued.  Finally, James came to his senses and dashed out the portrait hole towards the Great Hall, realizing that Lily couldn't follow him in her present condition.

After she cleaned up the mess James made with the Dungbomb, she proceeded to the Great Hall to appease her now constantly growling stomach.  Lily was walking into the Great Hall for breakfast, when she spotted a familiar mop of trademark black hair at the Gryffindor table.  

She strolled over and plopped down next to James, hoping to snatch up an opportunity for revenge.  After a few rather large bites of food (she was starving, after all), she casually inquired of Harry the reason he wasn't spending the break with his parents.

As soon as he was finished with his spontaneous choking fit, he mumbled some excuse about his parents going on a private vacation.  This thought made Lily want to run to the nearest bathroom and retch, because she knew all too well who those parents were.  

Needless to say, Lily immediately lost her appetite and excused herself from the Great Hall, pausing just long enough to dump the remainder of her food on James' head, plate and all.

~*~*~

Lily was a woman on a mission.

After fleeing from the Great Hall, she had gone outside to get some fresh air.  She had found her mind inadvertently drifting to the photo album in Harry's trunk.  A voice in the back of her head kept nagging her that there was something strange about the pictures in the little book.

She decided that now was the best time to find out what was wrong.  Chances were, it was merely a concoction of Lily's own imagination, but she needed to know for sure.  

She snuck a peek into the Great Hall to make sure that the Potters were still in their seats.  Once reassured, Lily hurried to Gryffindor Tower.  She cast a furtive glance around the deserted Common Room to double check that there was no one to spy on her.

Lily bounded up the stairway leading to the boys' dorms and shut the door behind her.  Her eyes darted to the trunk labeled "Harry Potter."

"_Alohomora!"  Just like last time, the lock easily snapped open, revealing its contents to a certain redhead.  She muttered to herself as she dug through all the junk.  _

Finally, she was able to uncover the elusive book and opened it to the first page.  

She made a face at the happy little family waving back at her and promptly turned the page.  More baby pictures…bah!  

Turn.  James Potter scoring a goal in Quidditch.  Nothing interesting there.  

Turn.  Hey, that was her!  Apparently, she was made Head Girl!  Lily waved back at the grinning image.  Now, who was that Head Boy next to her?  Ack!  It just _had to be Potter!  And he had his arm around her!_

Turn!  A wedding picture…with the two of them engaged in a lip lock.  Eek!

Her eyes were hastily squeezed shut, but it was too late.  The horrifying vision was already burned into her mind.  She inhaled deeply and held her breath for a moment, then slowly let it out.

"It's okay, Lily.  Just calm down," she coached herself.

Dreading what she would find next, she flipped to the next page.

Lily forced herself to open her eyes, and risked a look.  She breathed a sigh of relief.  It was just another family picture, with the three of them outside what seemed to be their house.

Turn.  The Marauders outside the Three Broomsticks.

Turn.  Lily getting hit with a pillow and feathers flying everywhere.

Turn.  Lily cooing over Harry in his crib.  She had to admit, he was a rather cute baby.

Lily was so engrossed in the pictures that she didn't hear the person outside the door until they were jiggling the doorknob.

She quickly tried to shove the photo album back into Harry's trunk, but wasn't fast enough.  The person had already entered the room, and was staring at the sight of the little black book in the hands of one of the only two people he didn't want to see it.

She didn't seem to be too upset about getting caught by him.  In fact, she had an almost relieved expression on her face, as if she had been half-hoping he would catch her.

Indeed, that was what Lily was thinking at that very moment.  She knew that she couldn't keep this secret inside any longer, and she had been practically bursting to let it out.  He was certainly the best person to talk to, since her new friends would probably freak, and Potter…well, she didn't even want to go there.

Lily had been waiting for the right moment, and here was the perfect opportunity.  If he hadn't walked in on her, she might have just gone ahead with her original plan.  But, somehow, she didn't think going up to him and declaring straight out she knew that they were going to be a family soon would've gone over too well.  Yes, it was definitely better this way.

He stood a few yards away from her, apparently waiting for her to make the first move.  So she did.

"Harry, I think we need to talk."

Harry's only answer was to walk over to his bed and make himself comfortable, waiting for Lily to start.  He waited for what seemed like an eternity, but in truth was only a few minutes.

Lily was having an extremely difficult time trying to come up with what to say.  It wasn't that she didn't know what she wanted to tell him.  Actually, it was the fact that she simply had too much to tell that she didn't know where to start.  

Also, her words tended to get twisted around Harry, coming out with a completely different meaning than she had originally intended.  Maybe, it was that she had a hard time keeping her temper in check around him.  Or, rather, Potters in general, especially of the male specimen.  It must run in the family.

A few choice examples immediately sprang up in her mind.

_"…disgusting piece of filth…wretched son…I wish that you were never born!"_

Lily felt the tears welling up in her eyes threaten to spill over, but she didn't bother to wipe them away.  She deserved them for her dreadful treatment of Harry.

And Lily realized that there was only one thing she could say.

"I'm sorry."

The hushed words came out so unexpectedly for Harry that he almost didn't catch them.  He blinked in disbelief.  Silence.  It must have been his imagination, right?  Anne could _not have just apologized to him._

However, there was no way that Harry could miss Lily's next words.

"What kind of a horrible mother am I going to turn out to be?"  Lily didn't realize that she had expressed her thoughts aloud until she heard Harry's sharp intake of breath.

She raised her eyes to meet his.

Emerald clashed with emerald.  Past with future.  Mother with son.

"Maybe your father's been right all along.  Maybe I _am just a Green-Eyed Monster after all."_

Lily's words finally began to sink in, and Harry started to shake his head.  Slowly at first, then more fervently.  She couldn't think that.  He slid off the bed to where she was collapsed on the floor, her form shaking with quiet sobs.

"No," he whispered.  When she gave no sign as to having heard him, he tentatively reached out to her.  And slowly, ever so slowly, he wrapped his arms around her.

No, Lily wasn't forgiven.  Both of them knew that.  But it was a start.  Together, they had taken the first steps on the path to redemption.

Little did they know at that moment just how far Lily would be forced to go for that redemption.

For, at that moment, they simply held each other and poured their sorrow into their tears.

Sometime later, their tears had dried, but neither had attempted to get up from the floor.  And that was how they were discovered.

The figure in the doorway wore a shell-shocked expression on his face, gaping at the strange sight before him.

Upon noticing him, Lily whispered something to Harry, who nodded.  Then, she picked herself up from the floor and brushed past him, pausing ever so briefly to murmur, "Hello, James."

James stayed frozen in the doorway, not even immediately registering the fact that Lily had just called him by his first name.

"Oh yeah, and James?"  Lily asked, turning back around.  She casually walked over to where James was rendered immobile and pointed to a clump of his damp hair.  "You missed a spot."

He instinctively ran a hand through his hair and came out with a bit of egg between his fingers.  "Thank-" he broke off in mid-sentence, for there was no sign of the redhead anywhere.

He turned towards Harry, who had been quietly sitting on the bed throughout the entire thing.  What, exactly, was going on between Harry and Lily?  James narrowed his eyes at his son.  Harry definitely had some explaining to do.

*~TBC~*

I swear, one of these days, I'm going to give you all heart attacks from my cliffies.  But this one wasn't really _that_ bad, was it?  I mean, considering the others in this story, it's actually pretty mild.  In fact, it doesn't even qualify as one in my book.

This is my longest part up to date!  Aren't you proud?  What was that?  Oh yeah.  I had three and a half months.  Uh-huh.  About that.  You see…um, well ff.net was to blame for part of it!  It was down an _awful_ lot, don't you think?  And…would you believe me if I said I had writer's block…er…again?  I thought not.

*~Thank You to Reviewers of Chapter 11~*

(That is, if you're still around to read this)

Vmr:  Thanks!

Kay:  Was this chapter interesting enough for you?

Lilz:  You feel sorry for Harry?  So do I!  LOL

Tarawen:  I was planning on having Sirius in the story, although not for a while.  But I don't know if I'll have him be the one to give it away.  Thanks for sharing your idea, though!

Kat097:  *breathes a sigh of relief*  I'm safe!

LexiGurl:  Glad you thought so!

Snow Lepoard:  Thanks for reviewing!

Sierra*Sitruc:  Because I'm evil, that's why.  Or, at least, that's what I've been told…numerous (more like countless) times.

Phoenix:  Lily's slightly…confused.  (slightly?)  hehe

A-man:  I would have thought that you would've gotten used to my cliffies by now!

Endriago Luna aka tsuki tatsu:  No, the reviewers aren't dissin my characters.  That's why I was confused when you said "everyone."  

Bumblebee Bucy:  Thank you!

Maab:  Aren't my cliffhangers always evil?

Time Twins:  Yep, Harry does seem to have all the problems, doesn't he?

LupinsLover:  Well, Lily has a short fuse.  What can I say?

Thistlemeg:  Very good questions.  I know the answers to both.  Am I telling?  Um…you must know the kind of person I am by now.

SAKURAnTOKYO:  Eventually…

Quack Quack 88:  You're right, that is kind of creepy!  And just, well…WRONG!  

Lily Evans Potter:  Thanks!

Star:  I got your message alright!  More like, how could I miss it??  :)

Gia:  Glad to hear it!

Lily Evans P:  You really think I'm one of the best?  I mean, seriously???  You're so not sucking up…riiiiiiiiight….  Glad you think my story's suspenseful.

Jenny:  Me and JK?  I did not just read that!  Are you sure you really meant ME (as in a simple little 16-year-old with no life) and JK (the great, awe-inspiring, incredible, fantastic, marvelous writing GODDESS)??

Leita:  One of the greatest?  I'm flattered!

Em:  Yes, I did say to give me ideas, and very promising ideas they were!  Actually, I think I emailed you about one of them (I'm not going to say which one, since I don't want to give anything away to peeking eyes).  And there was nothing wrong with this review!

Queenoftheworld:  Lily tells James?  But… But… That will take all the fun out of it!  I have a TON more stuff planned before she says a word!

Liz Angels:  Lily's aware that Harry's her son (she's not THAT dense hehe) but you have to remember that the girl just found out that she's going to end up marrying her worst enemy!  I don't know about you, but I would be more than a little upset if that happened to me.  And there's whole thing with being trapped 20 years in the future with said enemy and no apparent way to get home.  And then having a bombshell like that photo album dropped on her, and the stress is really getting to her.  I hope that made some semblance of sense.  Thank you so much for reviewing…and tsk tsk tsk for neglecting to do so in previous chapters!  And about that happy ending…err…all I'm going to say is that you'll have to wait and see!  I already know pretty much how it's going to end, but of course, that doesn't help YOU too much, now does it?

Eris, Queen of the Shadows:  But I'm so good at cruel and unusual punishment!

Lady FoxFire:  No, she's known since she found the photo album that Harry's her son.  However, she couldn't see any glaring resemblance before, so it was relatively easy for her to keep on denying it.

Alia:  Thanks!

Grayswandir:  Sirius, definitely.  I don't know about Wormtail/Voldemort.  Maybe.  I haven't read many time travel stories, but is Harry being a Parseltongue really that overused? 

s h i n a e:  Don't worry, Lily won't be like this throughout the entire story.

HPMystery:  You must be the first person to actually LIKE spiteful Lily.  Everyone else is thinking of ways to torture her!  Personally, I think it fits.

Ice:  *kicks Lily in the shin*  There you go!

Luna Rose / Phoenix Child:  Thanks for reviewing!

Tidmag:  Hm, since you think a sad Harry is so cute, is that my cue to add in more sad Harry in future chapters?  Hehe  Weeks, yes.  Months, yes.  Years, I haven't quite gotten to that stage yet.  But, honestly, I'm not THAT bad, right?  *cough*yeah right*cough*

dOwN aSS cHiC:  And you're so certain that L/J will make up…why?  After all, according to what I've been told, I'm a very evil person.  Wouldn't it be just like me to keep them apart?

Meg:  I wrote more…not so soon.  Um, oops?

Fangboy:  Yep, after 11 chapters, his eyes are FINALLY  back to green.  Maybe now, I'll stop getting so many reviews/emails saying that Harry's eyes are NOT supposed to be blue.

Bella Black:  Thank you!

Evil Green Jello:  I went back and reread some of the parts in this story.  You're right, he does!  That's what, two or three times now?  And the story's not even close to being finished!

Ray of sunshine:  I'm talented?  Aw…thank you so much!  *happy sniff*

Ronniekin's Sweetheart:  Haha!  Just thought I'd throw that one out there!  Like I told another reviewer, wouldn't it be just like my very evil self to have them NOT get together?

Anon:  Sorry to break it to you, but I'm not very good at ASAP.  Just ask any one of my long-time reviewers, and they'll tell you how long you guys have to wait for updates.  And-  Hey!  Where are you going?  I was, um, only kidding!  Yeah, that's it.  I actually update very often.  Mm-hm.  Twice in one year, and if you're lucky, four-  Come back here!

Lyse:  Thank you!

Summersun:  It would seem that way, wouldn't it?

lick me:  I'm continuing, I'm continuing!  hehe

Sakura is to perfect:  Glad you thought so!

RJLL:  I made you cry?  Wow, that's a first!  I'm so proud of myse-  Er, I mean…

Xaviera:  I got the picture!  I'm definitely NOT sick of hearing how much people are enjoying this story.  I'm still floored by the overwhelming response this fic has received!  But whatever do you mean by torturing little helpless innocents?  *puts on her best puzzled face*

Allie:  But of course cliff hangers again!  Did you really expect anything else from yours truly?

Miki:  Thanks for reviewing!

PrincessLesse:  LOL!  That's all I have to say!  Oh, and that Green-Eyed Monster line was just for you!

iluvjosh79:  I feel bad for Harry, too.  Hm?  What was that again?  Oh yeah, I was the one who made it that way in the first place.

Celeste:  Thank you!

Basilisk:  Soon?  I don't know the meaning of the word "soon."  Please enlighten me!

Silver Flame:  I'm sorry that my chapters are too short and too far between for you.  That's just the way I write.  Don't worry, I didn't take offense.  In fact, you wouldn't bother asking me for longer or more frequent chapters if you didn't like my story.

EuGIeBeAr:  Yes.  Cliffie.  Cliffies are good.  Oops, did I just say that out loud?  *runs away from a mob of angry fans*

Potterschik:  Thanks!

The-Girl-Who-Lived:  You read my little ol' story for two hours straight?  Wow…

Vicsamky:  Hm, that's a really good idea.  I would definitely use it if I didn't already have an idea of my own.  The rest of the fic basically centers around that idea, so it will be really difficult to incorporate your idea into my fic.  And another thing, I've never tried to write a fight scene before, so it will probably come out totally messed up and confusing.

Mave:  You're right.  Thanks for telling me!

Kristatwen:  You don't remember if you did one what?  A story?

Mikala:  Thanks for reviewing!

Cosette:  Three days?  Uh, just substitute "days" with "months" and you'll be right on target!

Kaori Lily Marie Otome XIV:  Thanks for putting it in your favs!

Tinabedina:  Thank you!

shimmerin' crystal:  Glad you think so!

SiriusBPadfoot:  That's exactly right!  Thanks for clearing it up for chooch!

Whisper:  Okay, a lot of people are confused about the eyes thing, so I'm going to try and explain.  Lily does realize that Harry's her son, which is the reason she's so irritable with him.  Up until now, Harry's eyes have been blue b/c of a potion he made in Snape's class.  In chapter 3 (which is what has been causing all the confusion), Harry is introduced as having blue eyes.  

Relena K. Peacecraft:  This fic definitely hasn't had a whole lot about James and his thoughts so far, has it?  Hm, I'll try to work on that.

Tabbycat:  Funny?  You think this fic's funny?  Hooray!!!  Now I've officially proven certain people I know who think I don't have a sense of humor wrong!  Thanks!  Btw, put back by a Time-Turner?  Why, whatever do you mean?  *puts on her best innocent face*

GD:  Sorry to have left you hanging!

WM:  You're welcome, you're welcome, you're welcome!  hehe

Su-Su:  Don't die!  Here it is!  *heart rate monitor starts to flatline due to the LONG delay*  Er…

Jody:  I know that not all redheads have a short temper, but that was just Harry trying to make himself feel better.  And, yes, James did call her Lillian on purpose.  At the end of Chapter 2, Dumbledore said that her new name was "Lillian Parker".  In Chapter 3, she introduces herself to Hermione as Lillian, Anne for short.

ChildLikeTendencies:  Thank you for reviewing!

QueenieNRCatFan:  I'm glad you like this story!

Shampoo ul copt:  Well, it's wonderful of you to let me know!

Sailor Sol:  I hope this chapter didn't disappoint on the guilty thing!

Delphine:  I liked that comment, too!  It was also ironic, though, considering just how much Lily and Petunia are different from each other.

Allison M Potter:  Yep, Lily was definitely handling the whole thing wrong.

Carms:  Oh, I'll keep posting all right.  Just can't give you a deadline on the "when."

Bodie:  I'm sorry if I've made you depressed.  The whole story won't be like this!

Christa:  Your fav?!  As in singular?  OMG!!!!  Thank you, thank you!

The-archress:  Thanks!

Silverstreak:  I'm continuing!  :)

Y. Kuang:  You're gonna…email me.  Well, I love emails!  Maybe I should deliberately withhold the next chapter just to get more!  *runs away from all the raised weapons* Then again, maybe not.  Hey!  I was only kidding!  Really!  Point that wand at someone else!

Diana Crescent:  I'm glad you enjoyed!

Iluvoliverwood:  Some people don't get the fact that she's in denial, and it just gets even more jumbled up when I try to explain.  I'm terrible at explanations!  I'm glad _someone_ gets what I'm trying to say!

Coolchick207:  Short, sweet, and to the point!  I like!

Diabla666:  She blamed Harry because she didn't have anyone else to blame.  After all, she couldn't exactly go up to James and yell at _him_.  First of all, even though she wasn't being the most rational person, even _she_ knew that she couldn't just blurt out stuff like that.  Secondly, James would probably have either freaked out just as much, or made some lewd comment about—er…use your imagination.  What else is on the minds of teenage boys 24/7?  About the Lily/Severus thing…you're right.  But we all know how twisted Snape is.

Twistie:  Thanks for reviewing!

Carolann b.:  Well, the story won't be finished anytime soon, seeing as how I'm not even halfway through yet, but I will try to update more often.

Whatever!:  Oh, but the whole point of cliffies to leave readers hanging!  Oops, that was obviously NOT the right thing to say.

RaspberryNile:  I definitely won't give up on it!  And if it takes me five years to finish it, then so be it!

Klea:  Don't you dare die on me!

Lily potter:  Well, I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but they are going to find out more about their lives.  Accidentally, of course.  I hope to work in some feelings soon!

Chantelle:  She was surprised because Harry's eyes have been blue up until that point.


	13. Quidditch

Did I say Monday in my author's note? Well, I decided to skip the thank you section, so SURPRISE!!! Now, THAT is definitely a first for me. Hehe. Anywho.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hi everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it? I know, I know: again. But this story is extremely hard to write, although I have no clue why. I know exactly what I want to happen, but I just can't seem to express it right when I'm typing. Weird, huh?  
  
  
  
  
  
You know what's even stranger? You know how you guys are always saying how slow of a writer I am? Well, get this, on another story I'm working on, I got three chapters out in one day! That's probably unbelievable to some of you, especially the ones who have stuck with me from the very beginning (thank you so much, guys!) and know all-too-well how long it takes for me to get a new chapter out.  
  
  
  
  
  
Anyway, that's just a little musing on my part. Sorry about the incessant rambling. I'm done.for now. Yes, you can read the story now.  
  
  
  
Chapter 13  
  
James waited rather impatiently for Harry to start talking. A minute passed and there was not a peep from his future son. Two minutes and counting. He began to tap his foot against the floor. Still nothing.  
  
He cleared his throat. When Harry didn't acknowledge him, James scrutinized the other boy carefully and noticed that Harry appeared to be deeply in thought.  
  
"Uh, Harry?" James asked hesitantly, wondering what Harry was thinking about.  
  
Harry's head jerked up with a start. "Huh?" he asked intelligently. "Were you talking to me?"  
  
James sighed exasperatedly. It was about time. "Yes, I was. Now, what is going on between you and Evans?"  
  
"Nothing," Harry mumbled, lowering his head to hide his face. He didn't want to risk giving anything away. While it was wonderful that his mother had found out, Harry knew that it would be too dangerous for another person to discover the secret. Especially if that other person was his father.  
  
James was skeptical. In fact, he was downright disbelieving.  
  
"Oh really? Then would you care to explain why the two of you were on the floor, and in each others' arms, no less?" James' voice rose higher and higher in volume, until he was practically shouting. He had to force himself to calm down. Why should he care? It's not like it really concerned him if Harry and Evans were keeping something from everyone. Their hearts would be the ones that would break when he and Evans returned to their own time, not his.  
  
Harry remained silent.  
  
James didn't know why, but he suddenly felt a feeling of despair.  
  
"That's what I thought," James said quietly before turning back out the door.  
  
~*~*~  
  
It wasn't until five minutes after she left the boys' dorms that Lily realized she hadn't gotten what she'd gone there for. The whole reason she had been in there in the first place was to figure out why the album seemed so strange to her. But then, Harry had come in, and things had gotten off- track.  
  
Now that Harry had discovered what Lily knew, she realized that she could just go to him and ask him straight out. But something inside her, some innate instinct, told her that plan of action wouldn't get her any answers.  
  
She was still on her own. But Lily was determined to find out some answers. And when Lily Evans had a goal, she didn't rest until she achieved it.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The rest of Christmas break was pretty much uneventful. A few days after the photo album incident, things returned to normal. Or, as normal as they could get around Hogwarts with two teenagers who were supposed to be long dead by then.  
  
At least, it appeared normal on the surface.  
  
But if someone had taken a closer look, he or she would have seen that things were not all that they seemed.  
  
James Potter wasn't quite as enthusiastic with his pranks on Lily as he usually would have been, had he been stuck in a nearly empty school with his worst enemy. Some mornings, he could be found moping on his bed with a sullen expression. If one had asked what was wrong, James would have looked up in surprise and said, "nothing." For he truly didn't know.  
  
Meanwhile, Lily Evans and Harry Potter were found to be spending more and more time together. The bond that Harry had previously shared with his father was slowly breaking apart, being replaced by another kind. The bond between mother and son. Of course, no one was aware that they had discovered this bond besides the two of them. Not even Dumbledore.  
  
Before they knew it, break was over and the halls were filled with noisy students again. But the subtle changes that had occurred were still there.  
  
~*~*~  
  
James scribbled frantically on his sheet of parchment, determined to get his Charms essay finished. The one, if he had been smart, he should have completed last night. But, really, who does homework on Saturday nights? So, instead, here he was, with his quill scratching rapidly against the parchment, paying dearly for his procrastination.  
  
He paused for a brief moment to glance up at the clock. Midnight. Hopefully, if he was lucky, the essay would be finished with another hour's worth of work, leaving him with five hours of sleep. That wasn't too bad.  
  
But that meant he had to get cracking. James turned his attention back to the present task at hand.  
  
At that moment, the sound of laughter distracted James. Or, rather, the sound of laughter coming from two specific people. Very familiar people.  
  
He scowled. There was something strange going on between those two. Something James had no part in. Something he didn't even know about.  
  
And James hated being left in the dark. It was time to take things into his own hands.  
  
He laid his parchment aside and casually strode over to where Lily and Harry were deeply engaged in conversation. He was about to announce his presence when a few snatches from their conversation caught his attention.  
  
".can't tell anyone."  
  
".only for the time-being."  
  
".wasted so much time."  
  
".forgive you."  
  
Then they hugged.  
  
For some mysterious reason unknown to him, James suddenly felt sick. He quickly turned away before they could spot him and went back to his Charms essay.  
  
James didn't sleep a wink that night.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lily didn't know how she had been roped into this.  
  
Maybe it was Hermione's nonstop insistence. She never knew that girl could be so annoying.  
  
Maybe it was Ginny's pleading. She had never known anyone who could make puppy-dog eyes that actually worked.  
  
Maybe it was Ron's soft, "I really wish you would come." Why that boy blushed so much, she didn't know.  
  
Maybe it was simply because Harry was playing. After all, she wouldn't get to see her son playing Quidditch when she went back to her own time.  
  
But maybe, just maybe, it was James' look of.well, she didn't exactly know. It had been one of those confounded unreadable expressions that he seemed to be sending her way lately. A jumble of emotions had been put forth into that one look, none of which she could decipher.  
  
Or perhaps it was all of these things combined. Lily wasn't sure, but regardless of how or why, here she was, sitting on one of the cold hard benches of the Quidditch field for only the third time in her life.  
  
The first time she had gone, it had been because her friends had threatened to spell-bind her and literally carry her there. She had reluctantly conceded, but left after ten minutes. After all, her friends never said she had to actually stay and watch. She didn't see what was so interesting about a group of maniacs flying around on broomsticks, just waiting to get their necks broken.  
  
The second time was to play a prank on Potter. As soon as she had bewitched a pair of his boxers to trail after his broomstick, she had hightailed it out of here. Pausing long enough to ensure that her plan had gone without a hitch and to snap a picture, of course. She had made a small fortune selling the copies of that picture to Potter's fan club. Obviously, they were obsessed with him to the point of wanting a photograph of his boxers. For some crazy reason, they had said it made them feel closer to him. Lily never understood what they meant.  
  
Therefore, this would be the first time she would get to see a full Quidditch game to the end. Oh boy, wasn't she excited? Especially when she discovered the seating arrangement. Apparently, she was sandwiched between Potter and Ron.  
  
Ron was nice to Hermione, Ginny, and Harry, but he couldn't seem to string together a coherent sentence around Lily. And Potter, well, everyone knew he didn't have an intelligent bone in his body. Great. So much for talking to the person next to her.  
  
Lily prepared herself for a game of what had to be the most mundane sport ever invented. On top of that, she had to be sitting next to the last two people she would have chosen. One, who didn't talk to her; the other, who talked plenty, but she seriously doubted he had ever said a kind word in his life.  
  
Lily sighed. She hoped it was a quick game. Then she could get away from Potter as soon as possible. He had been acting strange lately. The casual observer probably wouldn't have noticed, but after six years of mutual torment, Lily had inadvertently come to know James Potter quite well. These current changes of late were, frankly, scaring her. She didn't have any idea what could be causing them, but all she knew was that she wanted the old Potter back. The one she could hate in peace. In all honesty-not that she would admit it to anyone else, of course-she missed him. Now there's something Lily thought she'd never say, or think.  
  
Phweeeeeet!  
  
Lily snapped out of it just in time to see Gryffindor win the face-off and the players were off, zooming back and forth across the field like a bunch of lunatics. Rolling her eyes at the absurdity of it all, Lily looked around for Harry. When she didn't see him at first, she frowned. Where was he?  
  
"Looking for Harry?" a voice broke into her thoughts, startling her.  
  
Lily emitted a small cry of surprise and turned to James, nodding her head. Something flitted across his face, but it was so fleeting that it was gone before she could grasp it.  
  
"Look up," he instructed, pointing to a spot quite a bit higher than where the other players were.  
  
"Oh. What's he doing all the way up there?" she asked.  
  
James chuckled. "You really don't follow Quidditch, do you?"  
  
"To put it mildly." She waited for James to start teasing her about being holed up in a cave for the past six years. But he never did. Just went to show how much he'd changed.  
  
"Harry plays the position of Seeker. That's the player who tries to catch the Golden Snitch. Since the Seeker is only needed to spot the Snitch, he or she usually flies above all the action so as to stay out of the way of the other players. I've heard that Harry's the youngest Seeker on the House Teams in a century," James finished with pride.  
  
Lily felt a surge of pride rush through her, as well, even though she couldn't care less about Quidditch. "I think I get it. But what's the Snitch?"  
  
James stared at her in wonder for a few moments before replying. "Gee, you really don't know anything, do you?" But it wasn't said in a mean or sarcastic way. In fact, he sounded almost happy about it, like he actually wanted to be the one explaining all this to her.  
  
"The Golden Snitch is one of four balls used in Quidditch. It's the smallest and hardest to spot. The team that catches it gets 150 points. That team nearly always wins the game."  
  
"Oh, okay. What about the other positions and balls?" Lily felt like a total idiot, asking all these stupid questions.  
  
"See those four with the clubs? They're called Beaters. They try to knock those black balls flying around towards the other team. And now, we come to the most important and respected position of all."  
  
James paused for effect. ".the Chasers! There are three on each team, and their job is to get that big red ball, called a Quaffle, through those hoops at each end of the field. For each goal they score, they win their team 10 points. But the Keepers, or, um."  
  
James halted momentarily to think of the right word, ".goalies, as you would say in the Muggle world, right?.anyway, they try to keep the Chasers from scoring. So, you see, it's not easy being a Chaser. It's really the hardest job of all."  
  
Lily snorted. Three guesses as to what position James played. Nevertheless, she almost sighed with relief. For a moment there, she had caught a glimpse of the old James. The James that went around bragging about his extraordinary, oh-so-talented self. But he had never done so with her before.  
  
"Why, Whitman, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to impress me," she whispered, leaning in close.  
  
It was meant as a joke, but, apparently, James didn't quite see it that way. There was a long hush before he managed to choke out, "I-I-In your dreams, Parker." But there was no conviction behind the words. The old venom was simply.gone.  
  
They fell into an awkward silence after that, neither knowing what to say.  
  
James pretended to be engrossed in the game-which he normally would have been-but he kept stealing glances at Lily when she was looking the other way, or so he thought.  
  
In truth, Lily caught him every single time, but she quickly glanced away before he could notice. Something was definitely not right and she wished more than ever that things would just return to normal.  
  
"Oh! So close! Sorry Slyth- Hey, was that the Golden Snitch?"  
  
Suddenly, all eyes, Lily's included, were focused on the two boys, mere blurs to the crowd, diving headfirst towards the ground side by side.  
  
"Ah! What does he think he's doing? Isn't that dangerous? He could get seriously hurt! Oh, do be careful, Harry!" Lily started to cluck about frantically in a mother hen kind of way. Or just plain motherly.  
  
James Potter, however, didn't perceive it that way. If one were to look closely, he or she would have noticed a tiny frown appear on his otherwise blank features.  
  
"What? Why isn't he stopping? He's going to be dashed into the ground and splatter like an egg! All because of a silly, pointless game!" Lily continued to mutter.  
  
A moment later, she gave a loud screech, causing everyone around her to stare. However, she wasn't paying the least bit of attention. All of her focus was directed towards Harry who was now waving something victoriously in the air. A loud cheer rose up from the Gryffindor section of the stands, while almost equally loud boo's could be heard from the other side.  
  
"Jeez, he almost gave me a heart attack. What was he thinking, plunging towards the ground like that? He could gotten seriously hurt!"  
  
She then turned to James and poked him lightly in the side to get his attention. "You didn't tell me this game was so dangerous," she accused.  
  
He raised an eyebrow. "You call that dangerous? Harry was still about thirty feet above the ground!"  
  
"Well, yeah, but with the speed those wretched broomsticks go.. Oh, Jon! I'm just so glad he's all right!"  
  
Acting on pure impulse, as she would never have done it had she thought it out, she pulled James into a fierce hug.  
  
James' eyes widened in astonishment as he gazed down at the small redhead who currently had him grasped in what felt like a death grip. But, somehow, he didn't mind at all.  
  
Lily abruptly pulled away when she realized just what she had been doing. She felt her face begin to heat up.  
  
It might have just been her imagination, but Lily could have sworn she detected a hint of a blush on James' cheeks, as well. The great James Potter, blushing? And she, insignificant Lily Evans, was the cause of it? She felt so privileged. Ha! Yeah right.  
  
The Gryffindors were all too busy celebrating that none noticed one of the Slytherin beaters send a Bludger towards Harry in contempt. That is, until it reached its target-Harry's head-and knocked him unconscious, sending him plummeting towards the ground.  
  
Shocked gasps were heard from all around, but it was too late to do anything. Harry Potter landed with a sickening crunch and remained still.  
  
The formerly rowdy crowd fell into a stunned silence, every pair of eyes glued to the motionless body on the ground, lying crumpled in a heap.  
  
The mere seconds seemed to stretch into minutes.  
  
And then, the only sound that could be heard was an anguished scream of "HARRY!" The voice belonged to Anne Parker.  
  
*~TBC~*  
  
Well, that's that. I hope you guys enjoyed! If so (or not so) please let me know with a review! Btw, in case anyone's interested, that was definitely my longest part yet! It was a whole 7 pages in MS Word. That's the longest chapter I've ever written in any of my stories, including other fandoms! Aren't you proud of me? I'm proud of me!  
  
Some of you mentioned wanting more L/J, since this IS supposedly an L/J fic. Well, here's the long and short of it. I'm a hopeless romantic that's hopeless at writing romance. I love reading stories about them, but when I try to write one.well you can see for yourself how it turned out. If you're expecting chapter after chapter of googly eyes, snogging, and cheesy lines, look somewhere else. But I hope this chapter was SOMEWHAT satisfactory as far as L/J is concerned. Hey, I tried!  
  
With that said, do you guys think I need a beta reader? I was rereading some of the earlier parts to this story, and couldn't help but wince at some of the stupid little grammatical and spelling errors. I must've fallen asleep at my keyboard or something. LOL. So, anyway, put that in your review, also (whether or not I need a beta, not if I fell asleep). Yes, I'm quite demanding, aren't I?  
  
All right, that's it for this chapter, guys! See you soon! Hopefully, that is.  
  
For those of you who read my author's note, I would like to clarify something. The story I saw had the exact same events, in the exact same order. As in: James catches Lily pulling a prank in his dorm; James and Lily fight over the Time-Turner Lily has discovered; it falls to the floor and L/J have no way of returning to their own time; James is on top of Lily after they regain consciousness; L/J find an essay written by Neville Longbottom, thus realizing what has happened b/c they see the date. THAT is the kind of thing I was talking about. I have NOT reported anyone to ff.net. In fact, I was in a royally bad mood when I wrote the note yesterday, so I may have sounded a bit harsh and blow things way out of proportions. I guess I'm just stressed, like a lot of people. Once again, I apologize for offending anyone. If you have any further comments, please email me. Now, on to other topics!  
  
I regret to announce that I must now resign myself to preparing for the upcoming SATs. Farewell, all! If I do not return from the abyss, please keep the fond memories of me alive! (Was that melodramatic or what? Like you guys even have any fond memories of me. If it were up to you guys, I'll be forever known in the cyber world as the evil fanfic writer who always left her readers dangling by a thread.) Wish me luck and loads of fun! Haha.  
  
P.S. You do know what that means, right? Yep, you got it. Even slower updates! And school starts in two weeks (I can't believe I'm going to be a junior!), so I probably won't have a thank you section for a while (Don't worry, this fic will probably still be going on next summer. lol). *sniff* Believe it or not, I actually like writing those things! It makes me feel closer to my feedbackers. I'll miss talking to you guys! It's been fun! *starts sobbing hysterically*  
  
From now on, I'll be answering direct questions through email. Other than that, unless your review REALLY provoked a reaction from me (those would usually be flames), I will just leave a general thank you note to all. Also, a HUGE apology is in order to all the reviewers I may have missed in my last thank you note. Selena, I'm sorry I made you upset! :( 


	14. Misunderstandings Galore

Um…I do have an excuse for the looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong absence.  I was…uh….  Ok, never mind.  Maybe I don't, unless you count writer's block and pure laziness.  Ten months…wow…even I'm in awe. 

**Chapter 14**

After recovering from her temporary paralysis, Lily leapt to her feet and joined the throngs of students already moving towards Harry.

'Let him be all right.  Please let him be all right.'  The words were a litany in her mind, repeating themselves over and over again.

She desperately tried to move towards the center of the crowd, but to no avail.  "Excuse me, please!  Can I just get through?"  Her words were shouted in vain, for it was impossible to hear her over the loud din.

Lily scowled. Finally, she lost her patience.  That's it.  This called for desperate measures.  No more being nice. 

She forcibly shoved through the hordes of people, with James right beside her.  They earned many grunts and protests, but neither paid attention.  The only thing on their minds was getting to their son.

Lily was the first of the two to reach the middle of the crowd, where Professors McGonagall and Flitwick were desperately trying to keep the rest of the students back.

"Professors, please let us through!  I need to see him!" Lily begged, turning beseeching eyes towards the teachers.

"How bad is it?  Please!" James joined in a moment later.

The two professors directed their attention towards the two teenagers—their favorite students as of twenty years ago. The Queen of Charms and the Master of Transfiguration.  Head Girl and Boy.  Flitwick and McGonagall exchanged a glance and nodded.

This wasn't going to look good to the other kids—their letting through two exchange students who seemed to barely even know Harry Potter—but appearances were of the least importance right now.  They would come up with some sort of explanation later.

Lily rushed to Harry's side, with James at her heels.  Harry was presently being magicked onto an enchanted stretcher Professor Dumbledore had summoned.  

She cried out when she saw the state Harry was in.  A lump was already beginning to form where the wretched Bludger had made contact with the side of his head.  His right wrist was jutting out at an odd angle—possibly broken.  He had probably tried to use it to break his fall.

Lily felt her eyes start to blur with tears.  Her mind started to wander with random thoughts—anything to keep her from thinking of Harry's present condition.

He should have used his elbow, instead.  Didn't he know that you were NEVER supposed to use your wrist?

Foolish boy.

Not only for that, but also for playing Quidditch in the first place.  Not like she expected anything else of the son of a star Quidditch captain.  It was all James' fault.

But why did Harry have to be a Seeker, zooming around all the way up there?  Since he had already followed in James' footsteps this far, couldn't he have been a Chaser, too?  Then, he wouldn't have fallen all that way.  Actually, he never would have been the target of the Bludger in the first place. 

James was wrong.  The Seeker, not Chaser, was the hardest position to play.

Lily and James hurried alongside Dumbledore and the stretcher carrying their son all the way to the back to the castle.  The rest of the school, despite the continued protests of McGonagall and Flitwick, followed closely behind.

When they reached the infirmary ward, Madame Pomfrey—who was used to kicking students out—successfully prevented the stubborn kids who had followed all the way from the Quidditch pitch from entering.  Of course, she made an exception for Lily and James.

"I knew that game was dangerous.  It should be banned!"  Madame Pomfrey muttered to herself as she went about repairing the damage of broken bones.

"My thoughts exactly," Lily softly agreed, gazing at Harry's broken body with concern.  "He IS going to be all right, isn't he?" Lily asked, not really sure if she wanted to know.

Madame Pomfrey cast a cursory glance around the room to ensure that there were no eavesdropping ears.  Satisfied, she replied, "Don't you worry now, Lily dear.  This kind of thing happens all the time with that wretched sport.  I'll have him all fixed up in no time!"  With that, she exited the room in search of ingredients for a remedy.

The would-be parents breathed sighs of relief.  James sent a soft, reassuring smile in Lily's direction—one she tried to returned, but didn't quite manage.

Her form started to shake.  She hadn't allowed herself to be truly scared until now.  She had wanted to be strong for Harry, but now that she knew his life was no longer in danger, she allowed the emotions to tumble over her.

What if the Bludger had hit him just a little harder?  What if he hadn't been only thirty feet above ground?  What if it had been forty?  Fifty?  Would the situation be different?  There were so many different terrifying possibilities that suddenly assailed Lily all at once.  She sank into a nearby chair in pure exhaustion.

James noticed her evident fatigue and suggested worriedly, "Hey, since Harry's going to be all right, maybe you should head back to Gryffindor Tower and get some rest."

Lily shot him an incredulous look.  "What?  No way!  I'm staying right here!"

"Look, there's really no need for both of us to stay.  And since I'm his-"

"I have just as much right to be here as you do, _Jon," she interrupted, placing an emphasis on his assumed first name.  She didn't need to use it since no one else was in the room other than a sleeping Harry and Madame Pomfrey, but she hoped that it would convey her growing anger to him.  She wasn't about to leave Harry when he'd almost died mere hours ago, and nothing James could say would make her change her mind._

"Oh really?  And just what right is that?"  James raised an eyebrow.

"My right as his-" Lily stopped abruptly, clamping a hand over her mouth.  She couldn't believe she'd almost said it.  What an idiot she was.

"As his what, _Anne_?"  James prompted.  He used her fake identity on purpose, since that name was the one that was connected to Harry.  "What exactly are you to him?"

Lily gulped.  She felt as if James' eyes were burning a hole right through her.  And looking into those chocolate brown depths, she gasped as she realized the truth.  He didn't need her to tell him.  He _knew.  Somehow, he had found out exactly what she was to Harry.  The intensity of his stare was finally too much for her to handle, and she glanced away._

"Look at me."  His voice was quiet.  Too quiet.  It was the kind of quiet that concealed immeasurable amounts of anger.  The kind of quiet that warned of much worse things to come.  The symbolical calm before the storm.

Lily hesitantly raised her eyes back up to meet his again.  Almost immediately, she wished that she had kept them down, no matter how furious James was.  Anything was better than seeing his whole body shake with rage at her deception.  She wanted to lower her eyes again, but there was something about James' heated glance—some sort of power—that captivated her and wouldn't let her avert her gaze.

"Now, tell me, in your own words, just what you are to Harold James Potter."  James didn't know why he was doing this.  After all, he already knew everything there was to know.  Maybe it was a part of him that had been buried deep inside all along and was just now rearing its ugly head.  He needed to hear her say it.  He really was a sadistic bastard.

"Stop it, James.  Just stop!  You know what I am!  Do you have to torture me like this?  I'm sorry, okay?"

James was silent for a while after her outburst.  "Why, Lily?  Why did it have to be this way?"

"How am I supposed to know?  I guess it just sort of…happened."

He didn't look too happy about that answer.

Lily noticed this and simply snapped.  "Look, I don't like the situation any more than you do, all right?  I'd change it if I could!"

James was shocked.  She didn't like the fact that she was with Harry?  She'd change it all if she could?  So perhaps it wasn't too late, after all.  Maybe there was still hope.  Upon realizing this, his anger slowly ebbed away, and a small smile began to break out on his face.

Unfortunately, Lily didn't realize this and continued, "I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but Harry and I thought it was for the best."

That was the final straw.  The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.  His former fury came back full force.

"HARRY?  YOU?  And what gives you two the right to keep things like this from me?  I deserved to know!  I'm his FATHER, for crying out loud!"

"I KNOW!  Jeez, don't you think I KNOW that by now?  Do you really have to remind me?" Lily screamed at James, tears streaming down her cheeks.  Hurriedly swiping at them, she added, "Now, I'm staying here with Harry, and that's that!"

James started to protest, but one look at the determined look on Lily's face, and he knew it was futile to argue with her.  That last sentence also told him that the subject of Harry and Lily's relationship was closed.  For now, at least.  But James wasn't anywhere near finished, yet.  He had plenty more to say, but reluctantly admitted to himself that now was not the time.  However, he vowed to himself that he was going to get some answers soon.

Lily was fuming.  He knew full well what she was to Harry, yet he still had the nerve to ask her to leave.  Selfish jerk!  James wanted Harry all to himself, did he?  Well, she wasn't about to let that happen.  It does take two to make a baby, after all!  As Harry's mother—the other half of the parentage—she was going to stay right by Harry's bedside.  How dare that prick suggest otherwise?

Half an hour later found the two still at odds.  They were sitting as far apart from each other as possible while still remaining by Harry's side.

"James?" Lily meekly began, unsure of whether or not he was still angry with her.

"Hm?" was the answer.

"I…uh, wanted to apologize for some of the things I said earlier.  You were only looking out for me, and I kind of overreacted.  I'm sorry.  I guess I was just really stressed."  She waited with bated breath for his reply.

"You and me both on the stress.  Don't worry about it.  I'll forgive you if you're willing to do the same?"

Lily nodded and smiled tentatively at James.  He gave an answering grin in return.  A shaky truce had formed…for the moment.

Little did Lily and James know then that things were only going beginning to slide downhill.  And they had a lot further to go before they could bounce back up.

*~TBC~*

Yeah, I know what you're thinking.  All that time of waiting and you only get this skimpy little part.  Well, what can I say, except that it's ME? :)  Oh, and I would tell you that I'll try to get the next part out soon, but I know that won't mean anything to anybody at this point, including myself.  So expect the next part when you get it. =D I know, not very encouraging is it?  

Btw, for those of you who are wondering how my SATs went, I got a 1580!  Not that I'm bragging or anything… ;)  But I still have all those darned SAT IIs and the ACT!!  Oh well, I'm almost beyond the point of caring anymore.


	15. James the Hyena

**IMPORTANT**: This story will no longer be updated in its current version. My writing style has simply changed too much in the six years since I started this. Instead, I will be crafting a new version from scratch that will incorporate some of the old plot, but most of it will be fresh material.

I am in the process of finishing an outline and then writing the first chapter. In the meantime, I will be posting a companion/sequel piece entitled Into the Twilight We Go.

A big thank you goes out to those of you still interested in reading this. I apologize for leaving you all hanging, but I'll do my best to make the new version worth the wait for my writing skills to mature. Please feel free to PM/email me with questions (other than when I am going to update).

**Chapter 15 – James the Hyena**

Not long after Lily and James had established their dubious truce, Madame Pomfrey came bustling into the room to check on Harry. After fussing over his sleeping form, all the while muttering a few choice words about the dangers of Quidditch, she turned to the two anxious parents-to-be with a reassuring smile.

"He just needs a good night's rest and he'll be as good as new. I gave him some sleeping medication, which ensures that he won't wake up until tomorrow morning. Although the two of you are more than welcome to stay here for the night, I greatly advise you to return to your dorms and rest properly. Merlin knows it's been a long, trying day for all of us."

Both Lily and James breathed sighs of relief at the proclamation that their son would be all right. Neither of them, however, had any intention of leaving his side and told Madame Pomfrey as much. She nodded in understanding and left the three of them alone in the ward.

An uneasy silence immediately settled over the room as Lily and James both groped for something to say.

A nagging concern kept popping into Lily's mind, even though her better judgment cautioned her to let the issue rest for the moment. Before common sense could take over, she blurted out, "How long have you known?"

The question instantly caught James' attention, causing his head to snap up in surprise. "About you and Harry?"

Lily nodded in affirmation and gestured for him to continue.

James sighed in resignation and reluctantly stated, "Well, I wasn't sure of anything until you all but confirmed it tonight, but I've had the idea for a while. I guess the first time I started to suspect was the day I walked in on you and Harry in the boys' dorm, hugging on the floor. I knew that something had changed in your attitude towards Harry, since you seemed to be avoiding him like the plague up until then. And then you two started to spend practically every waking moment together, and I just sorta figured it out."

Lily was surprised at his answer. "You mean you didn't just all of a sudden discover something that convinced you of the truth? Or, Harry didn't mention anything?"

"No, there was nothing sudden. And why would Harry mention anything to me? The two of you apparently agreed that it was 'for the best' to leave me completely in the dark," James trailed off bitterly, referring to Lily's earlier excuse of why James hadn't been told of the situation.

Lily winced at the bitterness and hurt evident in the tone of his voice. She had the grace to look down at her hands in shame, nervously twiddling her thumbs. He was absolutely right. He didn't deserve to be left out. For perhaps the first time in six years, Lily agreed with James Potter.

"I just hope both of you know what you're doing," James spoke up again. "I mean, have either of you really thought this through? Getting too close to each other could very well result in the both of you being devastated when we have to return to our own time."

Without warning, James' hands shot out to grip Lily tightly by the shoulders as he looked imploringly into her eyes. "Please, Lily. You have to realize that it's never going to work." He searched her face for any hint of a response to this outburst, silently begging her to understand.

She raised her hands up to her shoulders to settle on top on James' and slowly slid their clasped hands down to hang between the two of them. James briefly ran his thumbs in a circle around the palms of her hands, before releasing them. He was still awaiting an answer. When one finally came, it was definitely not what he expected.

"What are you talking about?" There appeared to be nothing but utter confusion on the redhead's face.

"What do you mean, 'What are you talking about?' Are you so blinded by your feelings that you don't even acknowledge the fact that you're both going to hurt each other incredibly when we leave?" James couldn't believe that Lily could be so completely irrational about the whole situation. She always seemed to be one to think things through before she made any major decisions.

"Well, it's not like I'll never see him again," Lily momentarily paused at the thought of what ensuring Harry's existence would entail for her personally, but the idea of eventually getting together with James somehow didn't seem to be as horrific as she had once envisioned. Surely, that was just because she had become accustomed to the notion. She quickly appended, "That is, if everything still goes to plan, with us being in the future and all. I don't remind that I'll have to wait a few years to see him again. He'll catch up eventually."

It was official, James decided. Lily Evans had truly lost her mind. She simply had to be insane to even _consider_ extending her and Harry's relationship to a time when she'll be twenty years his senior. She was going to wait twenty years to be with James' future son. The madness of her intentions instigated a most unlikely response from him.

James started to chuckle. Then he chuckled a bit more. Gradually, his mirth grew in magnitude until he was all but rolling on the floor, clutching his stomach to prevent himself from keeling over. The funniest thing of all was that James didn't find anything to be the least bit funny, which made it all the more comical. Wait…that made no sense. But it fit with the sheer lunacy of the situation.

Clearly, this wasn't the response Lily was expecting. "Okay, James Potter," she tried to refrain from screaming at the hysterical boy, but failed miserably. "First you're mad because Harry and I didn't explicitly tell you what was going on. Then, you claim to have suspected something all along, but never showed any indication of knowing what was going on nor acted in the least bit upset. You even tried to be _nice_ to me on a few occasions." Lily's voice steadily rose in a crescendo as she continued, "But now, tonight, you go and blame ME for not telling you, and you have the NERVE to basically tell me to stay away from Harry! Then, you go spouting all this cryptic crap about Harry and me getting hurt just because we wanted to get to know each other a little bit!"

At this point of her tirade, James had ceased his hysteria and merely stared at Lily in dumb fascination as she ranted on.

"And _then_, you just start _LAUGHING_ like a hyena when I try to set you straight! Have you finally lost what little sense you had? Or are you just mad because you think I'm hogging all of Harry's time that should 'rightfully' belong to you? Huh? _Answer me_, James!" Lily panted, slightly out of breath as she awaited a reply.

"Uh…James?" The look on his face was enough to further grate on Lily's already worn nerves. "WHY are you just _staring_ at me like that? Say something!"

A pregnant pause hung between them before he finally spoke up, "You want to know what's so funny, Evans?" There was something in the dangerously quiet tone of his voice that made Lily suck in a breath in apprehension. The volume of his voice did not increase as he continued, causing her to lean closer in order to hear him. Even at their closer proximity, however, Lily had to strain to catch his next words. "I find it simply hilarious that you're _dating_ _my future son_!"

There was total silence in the room.

So that was it. The sheer absurdity of their argument had boiled down to just a huge misunderstanding. He thought that Lily was dating Harry. Lily was DATING Harry. Lily was dating HARRY.

When she had been trying to reason logically with him and nothing she said had been funny whatsoever, James had laughed his head off. When he made a statement so utterly absurd that it should have sent her into peals of laughter, all she could do was stare at him dumbly. What irony.

"What?" James sneered. "Is it starting to sink in now? Do you finally realize what a huge mistake you're making now that I've spelled it out for you? Have-"

Lily gently pressed a finger against his lips as she said softly, "Is that what you've been thinking all this time? That I was dating Harry?"

James' eyes widened in disbelief and confusion. Did he dare to hope that he was wrong? "Are you?" He silently pleaded with her to say no.

"Of course not, you prat." The insult, however, was spoken with a tone that made it seem almost endearing.

He breathed an immense sigh of relief. He had never been so glad to be wrong. "You're not." The statement came out partially as a question for her to affirm this and partially as a way to convince himself of a fact that he was still processing.

"James, look at me." He did so. It was Lily's turn to take him by the shoulders as she gazed steadily into his eyes. "I promised that there is absolutely _nothing_ romantic going on between me and Harry. Never was, never _will be._ Do you understand?"

He nodded slowly at her words. The determined gleam in her eyes caused him to believe her without a doubt. "Wait, so then what were we arguing about all this time? I mean, you were getting awfully defensive."

Lily took her hands off of his shoulders as she groped desperately for a reply. Since she now knew that he hadn't figured out the truth, it was hardly appropriate to tell him of his future. Things between them were already awkward enough. She had found out by accident, but he didn't have to know.

"I thought that you were getting jealous because I was spending so much time with your son." Our son, she amended to herself. It amazed her that she actually _wanted_ to proclaim that she was also responsible for Harry's existence. With a deep breath, she lied, "I was mad because I thought you didn't want it that way. I mean, knowing that your future son is becoming close friends with someone you hate can't be the best feeling in the world."

Slowly, James' arms came up to wrap around Lily in a comforting embrace. Is that what she had been thinking? That he despised her that much? "I don't hate you," he murmured reassuringly.

Her soft smile rendered further words unnecessary. Silence again pervaded the room, but this time, the hush was welcome. Lily and James remained in each other's arms, both lost in their own thoughts.

Looking back on their previous argument that night, Lily recalled how hurt James had seemed. At first, she had attributed it to resentment that she was spending more time with Harry than he was. But now that she knew there had been much more to it than mere envy, Lily was stunned to find out that she cared. She cared that her actions had given him pain. She cared _about_ James. She cared a lot.

James was the one to interrupt the quiet as an odd question popped into his mind. "Uh, Lily? There's something that I still don't quite understand."

"Hmm? And what's that?" She awaited the question with a small amount of trepidation, hoping he hadn't already noticed one of the numerous holes in her clumsy explanation.

"What's a hyena?"

TBC


End file.
